(pronounced ver-NA-kyeh-lehr or veh-NA-kyeh-lehr)

As a noun, this smart-sounding word means the overall language style / dialect or even a particular expression of a group or class of people – the mode being more “common” or regional as opposed to refined, cultured, and cosmopolitan. As an adjective, however, it can be applied to more than speech or the everyday names of things. It means characteristic of a period or place, particularly the widespread architectural and design style of a period or place.

Example: Bettina was thrilled to learn that, unlike many of the local restaurateurs, her new client insisted she complement the region’s vernacular architecture in the overall design scheme.