vernacularize

American  

[ver-nak-yuh-luh-rahyz, vuh-nak-] / vərˈnæk jə ləˌraɪz, vəˈnæk- /

especially British, vernacularise

verb (used with object)

vernacularized, vernacularizing

1. to translate into the natural speech peculiar to a people.

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Other Word Forms

• vernacularization
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of vernacularize

First recorded in 1815–25; vernacular + -ize

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Explanation

To vernacularize is to say something in an ordinary, informal way, so that just about everyone can understand what you mean. In order to explain something technical to a person who's not an expert, you need to vernacularize the information first. That means taking complicated or specialized words and phrases and translating them into everyday language. Instead of saying, "Your CBC came back indicating hyperlipidemia," a good doctor will vernacularize the message and say something like, "The blood test showed you've got high cholesterol." Vernacularize is from vernacular and its Latin root, which means "native."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vernacularizing

As Lara Pellegrinelli writes, “Speechifying a song is like vernacularizing language: putting one’s own stamp on it, making it like one’s own speech.”

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2016

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