The_Origins_of_Vernacular_Language

The Origins of Vernacular Language There were many different factors that were responsible for the rise of the vernacular language. The French were the first people to spread their literary works in the vernacular language. In the 14th century, vernacular works were used all through Europe. The change from Latin to vernacular presented a very important shift in courtly literature. The role of a woman during this period should not be underestimated. The noble women were the ones that had the works written in or translated to the vernacular language. Having this done caused a lot of history to be preserved. In the 15th century, the vernacular language was well known as the language of literature, personal expression, and also historical records. In the end, the vernacular language was subject to being standard. The vernacular language was meant to spread and rise because many people did not speak Latin that even included the noble men. The vernacular language was said to converted people to Christianity easier and was chosen over the Latin language. There were many different things that helped the vernacular language to spread. One of these things was advances in technology. This also helped the literacy rates increase. There were so many different factors that made the vernacular language rise and become popular. The women’s desire to be able to take part in cultural debates, advances in technology, and wanting to make Christianity more popular. These were the top three reasons that the vernacular language became popular and Latin was used less. One important factor for the rise of vernacular language was the desire to make Christianity available for the broad population. Because they were most versed in studies of the bible and science, as well as vernacular language, it was usually monks who created an alphabet to translate the Latin bible into vernacular language. Once Christian readings and teachings were available in the vernacular language, it became easier to convert people to Christianity (Bouchard, 2004). In the 10th century, the bible began being translated into the vernacular language by the Slavic Orthodox Christians. The rest of Europe was still using the Latin language, especially among the educated people until the 12th century (Sayre, 2013). The vernacular language was not being used by just the Christians, the Byzantine Jews also used a Greek vernacular language for their religious texts. The vernacular language becoming popular united many different religious communities. An important factor of this can be seen in the religious impact on the development of the different nations. This language was important in the standardization of the identities of the different cultures. The French were among the first to spread their literary works in the vernacular language and by the 14th century, vernacular works spread throughout Europe. The shift from Latin to vernacular language presents an important shift in the interest of courtly literature. It gave people greater freedom of expression, as can be seen in the poems of troubadours about courtly love (Sayre, 2013). The women of this time also had some responsibility for the vernacular language becoming popular. For boys that were born into wealth, education was becoming more popular. Latin was still the most popular subject. The girls born into wealth, were taught to read and identify Latin but were not taught what it truly meant. In the 15th century, vernacular language was the language of literature, personal expression, and the saving of historical records. Latin was still used for science and official things because it was considered to be a language safe from change. In the end, the vernacular language was considered to be classified as standard. The vernacular language was widespread throughout Europe, where having one language was the standard. A few examples are Welsh, Gaelic, and Cornish but were overtaken by English, Catalan, and Basque. It is considered to be easier to have one common language instead of many different languages. When having one common language it can be understood by all people in the community. One of the main debates that led to the Reformation was whether or not the religious services should be held in Latin or in the vernacular language. The vernacular language was eventually chosen because it was easier to convert the people to Christianity. The advances in technology also helped this language become popular. Lastly, the women of this time who were not very educated and wanted to take part in the cultural debates also played a very important part in the vernacular language becoming popular. REFERENCES: Sayre, H.M. (2013). Discovering the Humanities. (2nd Edition). Upper Saddle River,NJ: Pearson Education. Retrieved on June 22, 2013 from: http://mycampus.aiuonline.com/pages/ebook Bouchard,M. (2004). A critical reappraisal of the concept of the “Imagined Community” and the presumed sacred languages of the medieval period. National Identities, 6(1), 3-24. Retrieved on June 22, 2013 from: ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.cecybrary.com