In her study of early modern print culture, historian Clara Vance challenges the conventional narrative that the rapid expansion of vernacular printing in sixteenth-century Europe democratized literacy. Vance posits that rather than expanding access to text, the transition from Latin to vernacular print primarily served to consolidate socio-economic divisions. She argues that because printing guilds standardized only the prestigious dialects spoken by urban elites and administrative centers, individuals literate only in localized, non-standardized oral dialects were systematically marginalized from the new print-based economy, thereby reinforcing existing class hierarchies.
Which choice, if true, would most directly support Vance's hypothesis?
- AMany printing guilds in the sixteenth century continued to publish a substantial portion of their texts in Latin, alongside publications in the newly standardized vernacular dialects.
- BRegional records indicate that rural laborers who migrated to cities rapidly adopted the standardized printed dialect in their daily transactions, suggesting that dialect differences did not pose a significant barrier to social mobility.
- Following the standardization of elite administrative dialects by regional printing guilds, municipal courts began requiring all legal petitions to be submitted in the standardized printed dialect, leading to a significant decline in successful legal outcomes for rural laborers who spoke only localized dialects.Answer
- DSixteenth-century printers frequently reported that the high initial capital investment required to set up vernacular printing presses limited their ability to print localized, low-demand texts.