Vernacular Vernacular A vernacular, or vernacular language, is the language or variety of a language used in everyday life by the common people of a specific population. It is distinguished from a standard, national or literary language or a "lingua franca", used to facilitate communication across a large area. It is usually native, mostly spoken rather than written and usually seen as of lower status than more standardized forms. It can be a language, dialect or sociolect. Some linguists use "vernacular" and "nonstandard dialect" as synonyms. Usage of the word "vernacular" is not recent. In 1688, James Howell wrote: Concerning Italy,
The Great Saint Patrick's Day Flood The Great Saint Patrick's Day Flood The Great Saint Patrick's Day Flood is a short historical novel for children by the American writer Mildred S. Flaherty based on events of the Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Set in March, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers are rising. Eleven-year-old Billy Flynn and his seven-year-old brother Tommy are happy when school is cancelled. The boys' excitement soon turns to fear and awe as the rivers overflow their banks and people are forced to flee from their homes and work. Soon they experience life as they have never known it, discovering