Vernacular literature is literature written in the everyday language of a particular culture. It is usually distinguished from works written in formal language, which in some cases can be very different from a culture’s popular language. “Vernacular” refers to the speech or writing of the general public or a particular segment of it. Dante’s Divine Comedy and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are early examples of vernacular literature. Some authors, such as Mark Twain, wrote in the vernacular for dramatic impact or to simulate characters’ speech patterns.
Widespread literacy is a relatively recent phenomenon in human history. For thousands of years, only the wealthy and privileged learned how to read and write, such as religious leaders and other authority figures. This elite system was reinforced by laws or traditions that required works to be written in an official language of some kind. In medieval Europe, for example, Latin was the language of state, religious, and historical documents, even though it had not been spoken by ordinary people for hundreds of years. In India, Sanskrit had a similar function, requiring scholars to learn the ancient language to study religious and historical texts.
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Widespread literacy is a relatively recent phenomenon in human history. For thousands of years, only the wealthy and privileged learned how to read and write, such as religious leaders and other authority figures. This elite system was reinforced by laws or traditions that required works to be written in an official language of some kind. In medieval Europe, for example, Latin was the language of state, religious, and historical documents, even though it had not been spoken by ordinary people for hundreds of years. In India, Sanskrit had a similar function, requiring scholars to learn the ancient language to study religious and historical texts.
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