The Kite Runner: Vernacular

"'Insallah,' I echoed, though the 'God willing' qualifier didn't sound as sincere coming from my lips." (page 58)

"You offered tassali, condolences, for the death of a parents, congratulated for the birth of children, and shook your head mournfully when the conversation turned to Afgahnistan and the Roussis-which it inevitably did." (page 138)

One of the most important things to realize about The Kite Runner is that the Amir often slips in the language of his childhood in the chapters. When using the Dari language in his story, Amir is employing the use of vernacular. In my opinion, this adds a sense of authenticity to the novel. Using the vernacular allows the reader to be exposed to even more of the Afghan culture, which causes their understanding of the novel to increase as a whole. Amir makes certain though, to define the Dari words he uses right after he speaks them, such as in the excerpts above. I also liked how the Dari words were italicized when used; this caused a little click in my brain realizing that another language was being used, and I needed to look for the definition. The use of the vernacular was vital in causing the reader to gain a further understanding of the importance of culture to the storyline presented in The Kite Runner. The vernacular in this case only strengthened the story and added to the impact the Afghan culture had on Amir and those around him. It caused me greater interest in the novel as a whole.