Vernacular Language

In this atlas the vernacular is the ordinary spoken language of a worshipping community, as opposed to a fixed sacred or classical language kept for scripture and liturgy. The term denotes the ordinary, informal, spoken form of a language or dialect, often perceived as having lower social status than the more codified, institutionally promoted and literary standard, although every nonstandard variety is a full language with its own consistent grammar, sound system and vocabulary. Records that say a tradition worships or teaches in the vernacular, without naming one specific language, are grouped under this entry, because the actual language differs from place to place and cannot be reduced to a single named language entity.