(no subject)

Some deviant roots in Latin are traditionally explained as
influenced or coming from some neighbouring Italic language
(I can only remember "ruber" vs. "rufus", I forget which
one is proper Latin and which is "dialectal" or "rustic").
Is it possible that this "alternate source" is not a nearby
Italic language, but the language of the plebeians (vs.
the patricians)? The conflict between these groups, as
I recall it, plays a prominent role in early Roman history.
There is an account, the source of which I have forgotten,
of a late Roman emperor being told by his rhetorics tutor
not to use "o" for proper Latin "au" (as in vulgar Latin).
Also, Suetonius mentions that an ancestor of the emperor
Claudius, Clodius, had the office of plebeian tribune.
This would seem to indicate that "o" for "au" existed
very early as a "plebeianism".
So, my question is: Is "the plebeian language" the "other
source" for Latin?