Dear forum members,

I recall here-and-there mentions previously to writings by someone, I think Uwe Lang, that contended that liturgical Latin never was a “vernacular” in the sense of being at all close to what was spoken by “Joe Q. Roman” in the streets. The sense of the writing was that the liturgical Latin, even to its contemporaries, was something that was set apart from everyday speech.

Can anyone point in the direction of finding this article, book, or what not?