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,
Thought for the Day Thought for the Day Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the "Today" programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7:45 each Monday to Saturday morning. Nowadays lasting 2 minutes and 45 seconds, it is a successor to the more substantial five-minute religious sequence "Ten to Eight" (1965–1970) and, before that, "Lift Up Your Hearts", which was first broadcast five mornings a week on the BBC Home Service from December 1939, initially at 7:30, though soon moved to 7:47. The programme is broadcast