Vernacular is a term for the standard native language spoken in a state, province or country. Vernacular languages are more colloquial than literary. Thus vernacular is term used in reference with local languages as opposed to official languages. For instance Sanskrit was the official language during the ancient times and most of the literature was found in this language, so when somebody wrote in one of the local tongues like Hindi, Marathi or Tamil then it was considered as vernacular.
At one point of time this word vernacular was used as a derogatory term to refer to a not so educated person but after the advent of the Bhakti movement this term lost its derogatory connotation. This movement brought about the use of local and native languages in literature and art.
At one point of time this word vernacular was used as a derogatory term to refer to a not so educated person but after the advent of the Bhakti movement this term lost its derogatory connotation. This movement brought about the use of local and native languages in literature and art.