Essays on Vernacular

Vernacular Eloquence

Introduction The HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the newly appointed Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, advised students taking scholarships in the US to be good representatives of their country abroad and also urged them to not only focus on their academic but also to reach out to the American community and experience the American culture. He, however, reiterated that challenges are expected to be encountered while on their studies abroad but exhorted them that the American people are hospitable and simple with a great thirst for knowledge. He put emphasis that sending Saudi students to the US was ...

Beyonce Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas on September 4, 1981. Performance was important to her and she began performing in front of audiences at a very young age. Her parents supported her early entrance into the world of the performing arts, and her mother became her manager and stylist. (“Biography,” 2016) This support from her family was in large part the reason for her early success in the business. Beyonce had a large network of support that she could draw from when conflict arose and her times became more difficult than expected. When she was 16, Beyonce ...

A. Bibliographical research about Robert Frost

1. Childhood and youth of Robert Frost 2. Life twists in later years

B. Career challenges and achievements

1. First steps in literary world 2. Poetry keyline and poetic achievements C. Writing style and attitudes of Robert Frost 1. Style and peculiar features 2. Major themes D. Poem presentation III. Conclusion Being a renowned American poet, Robert Lee Frost is an eminent figure in the literary world and a distinguished artist with a profound oeuvre of remarkable masterpieces, remembered, nurtured and admired to this date. His life and artistic legacy raise a particular interest and urge to investigate his life story and fundamental factors ...

Research Paper

Judging the Quality of English Judging the Quality of English There are two main approaches that can be used to judge the standard of people’s English, both spoken and written. The prescriptive approach relies on the use of a set of rules and standards that prescribe how English should be used, whilst the descriptive approach relies more on an understanding of how English is used as a tool for communication in reality (McBee Oryulak, 2012). These two different approaches give an insight into how judgements can be made about the quality of the language. The purpose of this ...

Foremost, to understand the relevance of the identified themes of politics and economics, there is a need to consider the traditions that the authors represent in their works and the how their characters realize the problem with assuming the norms are acceptable. In other words, the following segments of this paper present the turning points of the identified narratives as they highlight the socio-economic divisions through the experiences of the characters. In “The Lesson” racial groups play a significant role in determining the opportunities that the people access. While in “The Necklace,” the social class to which one is ...

Language and dialect appear as a common issue in the study of linguistics because it is the main channel of communication. There are language attributes that exist depending on the type of language or dialect. Some languages are considered to be for the lower class while other are for people in the high class. There are some standardized languages such as English, which are commonly used no matter the geographical location. The most common attribute about English is that it is easy to understand and portrays a high level of literacy. However, after taking the linguistics class, some attributes ...

Background

Mad Men is a renowned American television series show about men and women at an advertising company. It is created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. The series consists of 7 seasons and 92 episodes. The events of the series are set around late 1950s and early 60s in the New York City. Mr. Don Draper is the main character in this series who owns an advertising agency in Madison Avenue in New York. He is struggling to stay on top of the heap in the competitive sphere of Madison Avenue advertising firms. Don faces a dilemma ...

The May Fourth Movement and Chinese Literature

China has a long and rich history that stretches over several centuries. Part of that history, naturally, is a rich cultural history that includes a fine literary tradition. Unfortunately, most of that literary tradition is not well known to the West. Modern Chinese literature, that which is popular in the Western world, developed as a result of the cultural revolution that began with the May Fourth Movement. The May Fourth Movement was part of a cultural and political revolution in China that led to the birth of a new intellectual class in China as well as an opening up ...

Doi Suthep-Pui National Park

Doi Suthep-Pui National Park

Rationale for choosing Doi Suthep-Pui National Park landscape

The Doi Suthep-Pui National Park is considered as one of the greatest cultural landscapes in Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province. The cultural landscape meets the high standards of international criteria on the aspects of its richness in natural aspects since it offers a scenic location of biodiversity besides having both rare and endangered species in its vicinity. The Doi Suthep-Pui National Park is critically a significant venue for a visit as it presents different cultural and natural attractions, for instance, the Phra That Doi Suthep Temple (Sponsel, 2014). Additionally, tribal people have lived in the ...

The story “The Jest that leads to disaster” is a Chinese short story that addresses the ways in which people make jokes and the dire impact that these jokes can have on people’s lives. These jokes can leads to a number of disasters. The persons who have made the jokes or who are the recipients of these jokes are often left to face these deadly consequences. This stems from the Huaben or Huapen genre which is a reflection of the Chinese narrative type that features a short and a long story within one story. But, these two stories ...

Abstract

Chinese government and Chinese people were working out new conceptual framework for practices that departed from the traditional philology of the Chinese dialects. The essay not only discusses the differences between Wenyan and Baihua traces the progress made by modern Chinese, leading to a new type of literature. The discussion sheds light on the ancient Chinese language and the struggle between classical and vernacular literatures and how baihua promoted a sense of immediacy as compared to wenyan. Chinese ‘language’ and its dialects’ are as complex as their long history. One cannot deny the impact of Western’ languages on the ...

The essays aims to show if and how national identity finds its reflection in architecture. Turkey is the country handpicked for this particular scientific purpose inasmuch as it a solid example of a multicultural state acknowledged at political and legal levels. More importantly, it has a rich history of multiculturalism. Istanbul and Ankara are the primary examples of architectural tendencies. The essay carefully traces the evolution of western influence and the rationales behind the cultural dialogue in the days of the empire, which allows understanding the nature of possible national identity erosion in the modern Turkish architecture. The brief ...

Proposal

Thesis Statement: In the 1930s years, China was a divided country and got through significant changes both in politic and social spheres. One of such changes was the increased role of women. Chinese society, however, was in its critical times; established principles of the patriarchal society came into conflict with the rising of women’s status. That was especially challenging for the female representatives of the lower class. The Goddess tells the story of one of such women, struggling and poor, forced to work as a prostitute in order to provide better living for her little son. For him, ...

Introduction

Sociology is a social science that seeks to create the impetus for the utilization of objective standards and views for the review and analysis of concepts and ideas. This include the use of empirically proven methods and theories to examine and critique ideas and pointers. Several approaches and methods are used for the evaluation and analysis of different cultures. The purpose of this paper is to utilize the etic (outsider’s) and emic (insider’s) approach of cultural analysis to evaluate the African-American subculture of the United States of America.

Emic Perspective of the African-American Culture

The emic perspective is to provide an insider’s ...

“Mulatto” is a play written by Langston Hughes in the thirties of the previous century. The play explores the issues of the race such as lynching and miscegenation as well as the tragedy of family relationships between father and son during a difficult and controversial period in the social relations in America. The author received the national reputation of a dramatist due to the performance of “Mulatto” in 1935 by Martin Jones on Broadway. The play appealed to the public of Broadway because it examined the theme of tragic mulatto that symbolized the failure of the myth of egalitarianism. ...

The Reformation period is mostly related to Martin Luther’s actions to reform the Catholic traditions (Kulp, 2004) and to the Anglican Church separation from the Roman Catholic Church and these events implied a series of changes regarding the church administration, including changes in the church music (Reese, 1990).

As such, Henry the VIII of England imposed a major shift in in the liturgical upheaval, declaring that all services would be performed in English language (as compared to the previously used Latin language, considered the language of God) and in terms of church music there would be used one syllable ...

Vernacular Architecture – Hassan Fathy

ABSTRACT

Before his death in 1989, Hassan Fathy proved a leader and innovator in a particular focus on vernacular architecture inspired by his intention to rediscover and use the traditional materials of the desert dwelling Arab of his beloved Egypt. In his journey, he realized the importance of the spirit of culture, of community, and of the roots of Islam influence on the best sustainable architecture of the desert dwelling Muslim in the community setting. Tasked with creating the design and development of a community for several thousand displaced people from the old Gourna village Fathy incorporated the poverty of the ...

Popular culture has been described differently by different scholars according to different periods. Generally, popular culture refers to the vernacular or the culture of a given community, which is predominant in the society during a given period. Others consider popular culture as the entirety of attitudes, ideas, memes, perspectives, phenomena, and perspectives, which are informally accepted within the general culture. In the past, popular culture majorly comprised of books, music, fashion, and other daily ephemera, which a community within the society identifies itself. However, due to technological advancements and globalization, popular culture today includes mass media, celebrities, the internet, and a host of ...

Introduction

Vernacular coding for buildings offers a viable architecture that can fit varied conditions based on its nature, reflected as being open ended in nature. For this reason, vernacular coding is applicable in both natural and manmade conditions (Lane, 45). For adequate classification of buildings using the vernacular method, it is necessary to have an adequate understanding of the geographical area. For this purpose, the climate of Riyadh will be put into context to facilitate designing of buildings with the technique. The mentioned City is the capital of Saudi Arabia.

The climate of Riyadh

The Climate of Riyadh is characterized as being harsh, arid ...

In the past century, the world has changed past the point of recognition. Although globalization has arguably been occurring since the dawn of humanity, globalization has been occurring at a rate previously unseen; today, people move around the world more quickly and with greater ease than ever before. Along with this greater ease of travel and intercultural exchange came the need for a functional language that could operate as a global language of sorts. Because of a variety of sociopolitical factors and historical events, English seems to have become the frontrunner as the global business language. Many proponents of maintaining language purity suggest ...

Everyone has listened to music at one point in their life. The effect that music has on people is phenomenal and such that the absence of music unimaginable. My musical experience is interesting as I have different tastes and sounds from different cultures. When I was growing up, I liked children’s jingles that mostly accompanied cartoon programs on television. On answering the question on my musical experience I realized that I had so much to learn about music from different generations and cultures. My first stop was my grandparents. They had an interesting taste and view about ...

The Republic of Ireland, more commonly referred to as Ireland occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland, the second largest island of the British Isles. Its demography, history, geography and culture are unique (see Appendix 1 for scale map).

Ireland, which is to the far west of Europe, is also west of the island of Great Britain. The Republic covers 70,280 of the island’s total area of 84,431 square kilometres. The climate is temperate maritime, modified by the North Atlantic Current which contributes to its mildwinters and cool summers. Because of the high precipitation, the climate ...

Whitewashing is a term that means to have black culture, such as rap or hip-hop, invaded and taken over by the white population. Today, many black artists are angry that white rappers are becoming famous, acting like they are black while singing and representing a false black cultural heritage. This can diminish the social importance of the messages of popular black artists by making them look like a joke. Whitewashing can have a positive side. White rappers can draw audiences to the genre of rap and black artists, introducing white people to an entire new experience with black culture. However, getting those in ...

The musical element of this selection is monophonic. She sings in a cappella scales in Thai vernacular, with light crescendos and decrescendos for added emphasis. The artist sings in strophic repetition. Thai culture is traditional and based on simplicity. This comes out while listening to the song. If this song were categorized today it would be considered folk music because folk music is considered to be a part of the culture that it derives from. I am from Thailand, and the rich culture there is maintained through classic music accompanied by dance in beautiful costumes. It is used for story-telling. ...

Even though slavery significantly limited the ability of Africans Americans to exercise their cultural traditions, a values, beliefs and beliefs subsisted and with time have fused rudiments of European American philosophy. African American have been subjected to various instances of racial prejudice on the basis of their culture. In fact, there are certain facades of African American culture, which have emerged and been made protuberant as a result of slavery. These façades include their dressing codes and language. Cohorts of hardships levied on the African American society shaped unique language patterns. The slave masters always intentionally mixed individuals who ...

Introduction

African American literature was born at the end of the 18th century, during the period when the African American people were still going through slavery. Slaves were seen to be less than human and not able to study sciences or arts. White Philosophers during this time viewed slaves as inferior including those that wrote The Norton Anthology of African American Literature (Nellie McKay and Henry Louis Gates Jr.) as well as Immanuel Kant and David Hume. The philosophers noted that the African American people, nicknamed as ‘Negroes’ by then were inferior to the white people, and they did not ...

The ‘Jesse glass Tree’ is a representation that shows Christ Jesus’ ancestry. It starts with the father of King David, Jesse, in the genealogy. It originates from the book of prophet Isaiah who prophesied about the coming of the messiah. This representation is a symbol used to explain a line of origin. Christine de Pisan was a French poet and writer born in 1364 in Italy. She was a famous feminist writer during the medieval periods. She strongly stood for women rights. She came out at a time when women were subjugated. The women lived under the control of their fathers or husbands. In ...

What is Up? Graff’s Book

In his book “They Say I Say. Hidden Intellectualism” Graff is focused on the pedagogy issues that are related to the bringing up the new generation of people who are convinced in the priorities of living and thinking in an intellectual way. The ideas expressed by Graff are useful from many points of views, especially in the context of formation ideals in the new generation. Graff is convinced that every issue in modern life, even in the frames of our consuming world can be discussed and regarded intellectually. In his opinion, the task of education is to make youth ...

Of all the myriad ways in which the 60s counterculture challenged perceived notions of morality and the status quo, the anti-war song was perhaps its most popular. Given the stakes and devastation of the Vietnam War, which necessitated the draft and angered an increasingly independent and rebellious generation, songwriting and instrumentation increasingly took on these pacifist subtexts. From a Neo-Confucian perspective, the case of Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” defies the Confucian ideal of yayue, combining aggressive instrumentation with its cryptic vocals to create an atmosphere conducive to an anti-war, rebellious morality (consistent ...

The development of English literacy instructional programs has provided teachers the opportunity to inculcate ‘English Literacy Learners (ELLs)’ with appropriate strategic models. Literacy instructional models now embrace an appreciation for cultural diversity. In terms of linguistic variety brought to schools, the concept engages learners to excel in reading, writing, and generally to grasp an appreciation for language diversity in literacy. John McWhorter explains that “growing up in America” advances the notion that any English dialect veering away from the so-called ‘good’ English spoken on TV news programs represents “evidence of grungy mitts” leaving filthy prints on the sanitized “formica ...

Korea is one of the countries that adopted the writing of the Chinese for a prolonged period. King Sejong developed the Korean alphabet which became popular as a Korean vernacular writing system. This system swept away the Chinese writing because the population of the Koreans was in the increase and this greatly contributed to the king’s invention of the Korean vernacular. This ensured that the Koreans became formalized with the learning process since they could easily understand their own vernacular. Chinese was a formal writing and this limited the systems to informal writing and traditional stories copying (Kim-Renaud, 46). This lead ...

Swearing holds a unique place in society that is rife with contradictions. It can elevate one’s image as bold and assertive, and simultaneously diminish another’s image as uncouth and aggressive. It is perceived as unacceptable language in the classroom, yet essential on the sea deck. There is an innate hierarchy in swear words or phrases, which is constantly shifting. Societal change largely dictates acceptance or rejection of obscenities. Some words or phrases become acceptable within common vernacular and others mutate into objectionable vitriol. Words that were heard only in watering holes are now common on primetime television. In ...

Edward Wilmot Blyden was an illustrious pan-African intellectual, and he echoed one of the most common themes in black religion - Ethiopianism. Ethiopianism is the prophesied redemption of Africa by black Americans. Although in his later years he became a passionate defender of Islam, Blyden had the implicit belief that the spiritual journey of Africans in the diaspora was similar to that of the Jews. He also hoped that one day African Americans would return to their motherland to restore her to her former glory. He argued that the significance of Zionism and how it related to the Jewish nation ...

With America as an ongoing melting pot of the world, the various languages that develop here are also always evolving. There are many different languages. As a result of the various cultures and even various types of media, language are also evolving. English is exemplary for this evolution. Many different types of English have developed over time. Some of the most prominent forms that I use in my life are proper English, English for friends and family, and English for texting and social media. Each one is used for different interactions, to convey separate relationships and attachments. They each carry ...

Language development is the methodology by which youngsters come to comprehend and impart language amid right on time adolescence. Language development starts before conception. Towards the end of pregnancy, the embryo begins to hear sounds and discourse originating from outside the mother's body. Newborn children are intensely receptive to the human voice and lean toward it to different sounds. Specifically they favor the higher pitch typical for female voices. They additionally are exceptionally mindful to the human face, particularly when the face is talking. Albeit shouting is a tyke's essential method for correspondence during childbirth, language instantly begins to create ...

Introduction

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a derivative of English spoken primarily by African Americans in the United States. Even though named African American, this dialect cannot be defined racially since it is not necessary that only African Americans speak this. There are many Americans who are not black yet speak this tongue intrinsically (Patrick 2007). In a few instances, some people use only certain vocabulary of this version of English, thereby making it difficult to define the actual speakers of this dialect (Sidnell 2008). Issues arise due to the differences in this dialect with that which is commonly spoken. ...

The term renaissance was coined in the 14th and the 15th century by Italian intellectuals and was used by these intellectuals in describing their age or era the one which saw the rebirth of learning, literature and arts. This was after a long, vast and dark period through the middle ages. This period is the most disputed in European history. Ironically, though, it is the most interesting periods in the European history. Many intellects view this period as being unique and as having characteristics of its own variant with other periods in history. Another group of scholars are of the ...

Abstract

The paper shall introduce the issue of racialism in the world as well as defining racialism. In the paper, various challenges that stakeholders who are campaigning against racialism and especially in the United States among the blacks and the whites shall be discussed. Among the reasons discussed in the paper are failures of the blacks to do away with the history of slavery, the blacks believing on the notion of police brutality and profiling, the black referring to themselves as niggers as well dressing in a suspicious way. In addition, white failure to accept the culture and practises of the ...

Critical review of Chinese Art and Literature

Introduction: Chinese art is varied and intriguing both in the literary or dramatic aspect, as well as in the visual aspect. These two articles analyse various aspects of Chinese art dating back to several centuries. A typical example of the development of Chinese art are the famous flower paintings by Chien Hsuan that date back to at least the thirteenth century. This work, which according to a fifteenth century colophon, dates from Xhien’s maturity and is probably one of the finest of his flower paintings, apart from its interaction with poetry. The painting also reveals the richness and ...

Introduction

The Chinese people experienced eminent growths in terms of art and their culture between the period of 950-1200 AD. There were many developments in music, philosophy, literature and visual arts, which blossomed due to printing activities, hence making the Chinese culture spread to other regions. Among the major contributors towards this growth are the Song, Ming, Qing and Yuan Dynasties, which did many paintings and poetry to reflect further their culture 1. These works of art were exhibited for viewers during religious and other seasonal activities, an event that made the Chinese appreciate their culture. At some point during ...

The movie entitled ‘American tongues’ is a documentary film presenting a survey of regional American dialects. The film is entertaining and at the same time, very informative. The film begins at the scene when people express themselves through their different dialects. Onwards’ an African American lady is interviewed and asked whether she often uses a standard form of English or a vernacular dialect in her daily routines. She responds that she commonly uses both the two types at different times. Specifically, she speaks standard form of English when at work but during times with friends and family members, she uses her vernacular dialect. ...

Introduction

There are a number of vernacular languages which have gradually developed in Europe over the years. The French language which is mainly used in France and also in other parts of Europe is one of the vernacular languages in Europe. The French language, which is widely in use in Europe, was developed from Vulgar Latin. Vulgar Latin is the language that was mainly used in the Roman Empire as the vernacular language. The Romans conquered modern France, which used to be the ancient Gaul from the residents who were Gaulish speakers, a language categorized to be a Celtic language. Consequently, the Latin ...

Music in Sixteenth Century

During the 16th century or the period of renaissance, there was a distinct change in how sacred music was played in comparison to the preceding years. The change was quite noticeable when the church was shaken by the emergence of the Protestants, and they would obviously change their style of music to those of the Roman Catholics. Ancient practices had died and the renaissance saw the emergence of the new world. The Protestants, under Martin Luther were more vocal and borrowed certain characters of the secular music. For the Roman Catholics, the principal genres of sacred music were the ...

Introduction

Methodology involved in learning a new language is very crucial for the learners to develop the desired skill and competency in the target language. Language learning has gone through several changes over the century and different theories have been developed over the years for language teaching. In modern times, there are several methods used for teaching a language such as the Grammar-translation Method, the Audio-Lingual Method, the Direct Teaching Method and the Communicative Approach. The Grammar-Translation method and the Communicative approach are two significant methods of language teaching, both playing important roles in teaching a foreign language to students. While the Grammar-translation ...

Introduction

Rapid development of transportation means, communication technologies and globalization as phenomenon call forth topicality of addressing issues, related to migration, which concern integration and meeting the challenge of reframing critical spheres of social life with respect to the requirements of multicultural society. It may seem that the issue of choosing approach to managing diversity is inherent fir modern governance only. However, it is worth mentioning that in such countries as the USA, Australia and Canada, managing diversity has had quite a long story. The essay below will be dedicated to researching into current challenges of multiculturalism approach in education and ...

Introduction

Every individual belongs to a particular native language of a specific community that is different from a language of wider communication (national or standard language) that is usually a second language to the community. Both the vernacular and standard language contribute significantly to the understanding of literature studies hence the need to explore several excerpts of works done by early authors in both languages. There are several readings (original and translated) in which medieval texts represent their origins, strategies and purposes in the society in which in most cases is to guide readers in medieval English literature while also serving as one mapping ...

- Introduction For the layperson, architecture is mostly the process and design, planning and construction of buildings and physical structures. But many fail to understand that architecture is perceived as a work of art from where early stages of design are initiated. It can be equally expressed as a visual and physical psyche of an architect’s vision and way of thinking similar to art. Yet, art and architecture can be conceptually interchangeable where these talented artists do not perceive themselves as talents. The following subgenres of art, including elements of architecture, shall be explained, as well as described, to ...

Individual Project

(937 words) Latin became the language of Roman Imperial power and therefore all the land and peoples were familiar with the common form of ancient Latin after they were conquered by Roman military force. The question is - Why from all the languages did Latin become so popular. On the one hand Latin was the official language of the Roman bureaucracy. On the other hand a less formal Latin was used by the soldiers who conquered different regions and because some of them stayed to marry local women and raise their family, the military helped spread Latin. Latin carried ...

Abstract

In this essay, a description of how the vernacular language had its origin in the different countries and developed throughout History is made. It is also explored the way it spread to various areas of written works and everyday situations, gradually becoming the languages that one knows nowadays as the main languages of some countries of Europe. Keywords: vernacular, language, origin, development, literary, England, Germany, France, Roman, empire, spread, Latin.

With the Roman state powerful growth, Latin was quickly spread all throughout the Mediterranean area and became the dominant language. Being a living language, the evolution of Latin continued, being ...

Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII all had certain ideas in common during the Protestant Reformation, since they rejected the authority of the pope in Rome and thought that local rulers should be heads of national churches. Indeed, the Reformation could be described as a great impetus to nationalism as it spread through northern Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Scandinavia, England and Scotland in the 16th Century. They all thought the Latin Mass should be abolished, and had the Bible translated into the local vernacular languages. All Protestants abolished the old religious orders, permitted clergy to marry, ended the veneration of ...

In this lecture discussing a case study on second, third and fourth-grade students, the subject of dialect awareness was elaborated upon, particularly in the differences between 'School English" and "Home English" seen by English-speaking elementary school students. In essence, it was determined that students are able to often switch dialects between school and home English appropriately given their context. This leads to the conclusion that students are dialect-aware; they are able to know how to speak when they are at home and at school, and switch between them accordingly. This is also linked to stronger academic performance, and greater use ...

The following article comprises about the history and origination of British English. It consists of brief information regarding the different sub-languages that British English has been divided into. Also the article discusses the differences between American English and British English on the basis of their origins, vocabulary and grammar.

“Importance of British English: Comparison b/w American English & British English”

English, the renowned global language has forever been a part of almost every historical event which has taken place in the past. There have been revolutions where amidst battles and conflicts, English language has prospered to become an internationally accepted tongue which is recognized by all. A sub category of ...

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is a heroic story of a female protagonist Celie, who starts her journey as being a tragic heroine to finally gaining a voice and a sense of self-worth. By being surrounded by social outcasts such as Shug Avery, and being taught how to appreciate herself and her sexuality, by taking back the identity that has been cruelly taken away from her through abuse and sexual exploitation, by the end of the novel, Celie will emerge as the victor and sole owner of her own happiness. At the very beginning, the fourteen year old Celie’s finds herself ...

This paper delves deeper into the history of the vernacular languages, their development and the impacts to Latin as an educational language and the cultures of the time. There is a thorough explication on the roles that different factors played in the eventual growth of the vernacular languages, and the impact that they led to. An assessment of the whole rubric of the vernacular languages is carefully developed with greater emphasis to factors leading to the growth of the languages and impacts posed.

The origin of vernacular languages and their Impacts

The vernacular language can be defined as the language that is native to a country rather than a cultured ...

The Canadian poet Robert Service remains a paradox. He is the best selling poet of the twentieth century and yet his work has been reviled and criticized by literary critics. His biographer, Mallory, claims that “his poetry has touched the lives of millions of North Americans” (xv). Because of his enormous success, Service’s life was a real rag-to-riches story. Born on January 16th, 1874 to Scottish parents (his father worked in a bank), he followed his father’s footsteps when he first left school, joining a bank in Glasgow, the family having moved back to Scotland where Service joined them at ...

Vernacular language is defined as a local native language that is specific to a particular region. Vernacular is the ‘mother language,’ the dialect and language that the people of that area speak and are accustomed to. For the most part, vernacular languages are often considered to be Romance languages, insofar as literature is concerned. The origin and transfer of vernacular language in many contexts is a complex topic of study, and one that is the subject of this paper.

In the beginning, Latin was not the only Italic language available – many other tongues existed, including Greek Etruscan and Celtic. Latin’s language ...