The concept of “vulgar language” can only be meaningfully defined in the context of its cultural chronology. The adjective “vulgar” derived from the Latin vulgaris (“of the common people,” “widespread”; cf. also Vernacular), and accordingly originally carried the sense of “common” or “usual.” The Latin sermo/lingua vulgaris denoted “common speech/tongue,” that is, the general colloquial language of the ordinary, illiterate population of the Roman Empire. In some contexts, the Latin noun vulgus (“t…