Usage of the phrase “in the colloquial”

Question

When asked about the usage of a particularly obscure or academic word, one can respond with a definition, but then state an alternative, more commonly used word. One phrase I've heard used in this context is "in the colloquial". For example:

Yes, my academic job involves student tutelage, but in the colloquial we usually say that I teach students.

Is this a proper phrase? The alternative, I think, is simply "colloquially":

...colloquially, we say I teach students.

Is this more appropriate? Thanks!

Answer 1

The phrase I commonly hear is "in the vernacular," with vernacular used in this sense:

vernacular, noun. : (usually the vernacular) the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region

But if you wanted to preserve the use of colloquial, then rephrasing it to use the adverb ("colloquially, we put them through the wringer") is the correct form.

Note the usage examples of colloquial here.

Answer 2

As @Gnawme says, the standard term is in the vernacular. I don't put post this answer in order for it to be upvoted, because obviously Gnawme is right (apart from confusing noun/adjective usage).

I'm simply posting to make the point that Google Books can be misleading in cases like this. If you dive straight in and search for "in the colloquial is" (a reasonable text string to avoid "false positives" such as "written in the colloquial style of the age"), GB initially claims there are "about 10,100 results". You might well think it's a pretty commonplace text string, but start paging through them and GB soon admits there are actually only 80 results.

By contrast, search for "in the vernacular is". GB initially says there are "about 199,000 results". If you have the patience, page through them. it will eventually stop at 437 results.

GB will never return more than 1000 results. I don't know if this limit influences the estimated values. What I do know is that Google Books should be treated with caution. And I know that "the colloquial" is definitely not a valid noun phrase in British English, nor probably in American English (it may be valid in Indian English, but that's another story).