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Articles on vernacular

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Henry Darger worked as a hospital custodian. After his death in 1973, hundreds of his illustrations were discovered. Brooklyn Taxidermy/flickr

What is vernacular art? A visual artist explains

The genre – also known as ‘folk art’ or ‘outsider art’ – serves as a reminder that art is a universal human pursuit.
Six Tuscan Poets by Giorgio Vasari, 1544. Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Petrarch, Cino da Pistoia, Guittone d'Arezzo and Guido Cavalcanti are depicted in the oil painting. Wikimedia/MIA

How a lost manuscript revealed the first poets of Italian literature

The history of Italian literature cannot be understood without the vernacular poets. But their works were largely unknown until Lorenzo ‘the Magnificent’ sent a gift to the Prince of Naples.
A majority of South African school children are in the process of learning English by the time they start their schooling. Shutterstock

South Africans prefer their children to be taught in English

South African parents want their children be taught in English despite the fact that research shows that academic progress is hindered if a child is taught in a language they aren’t proficient in.
Translating notes into ‘deep’ or ‘high’ versions of languages isn’t very useful for young students who prefer vernacular, colloquial ways of speaking. Shutterstock

Simple, vernacular translations make the most sense for university students

There is little value in translating academic texts into “high” or “deep” versions of African languages. Most students read and speak their mother tongues in a far more colloquial fashion.

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