The difference between Colloquial and Vernacular
When used as nouns, colloquial means a colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism, whereas vernacular means the language of a people or a national language.
When used as adjectives, colloquial means denoting a manner of speaking or writing that is characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance, whereas vernacular means of or pertaining to everyday language, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
check bellow for the other definitions of Colloquial and Vernacular
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Colloquial as an adjective (linguistics):
Denoting a manner of speaking or writing that is characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.
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Colloquial as an adjective:
Of or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.
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Colloquial as a noun:
A colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism
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Vernacular as a noun:
The language of a people or a national language.
Examples:
"A vernacular of the United States is English."
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Vernacular as a noun:
Everyday speech or dialect, including colloquialisms, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
Examples:
"Street vernacular can be quite different from what is heard elsewhere."
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Vernacular as a noun:
Language unique to a particular group of people; jargon, argot.
Examples:
"For those of a certain age, hiphop vernacular might just as well be a foreign language."
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Vernacular as a noun (Roman Catholicism):
The indigenous language of a people, into which the words of the Mass are translated.
Examples:
"Vatican II allowed the celebration of the mass in the vernacular."
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Vernacular as an adjective:
Of or pertaining to everyday language, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
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Vernacular as an adjective:
Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or nature; native; indigenous.
Examples:
"a vernacular disease"
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Vernacular as an adjective (architecture):
Of or related to local building materials and styles; not imported.
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Vernacular as an adjective (art):
Connected to a collective memory; not imported.