The Language Of Austria: Austrian Or German?

Austria's official language is German, but this isn't the whole story. German in Austria is influenced by Austro-Bavarian, the unofficial native language of Austria. German is the lingua franca and de facto first language of Austria, but there are many other languages spoken in the country.

German is the official language of Austria

Austrian German is mutually intelligible with Standard German, with some differences in accent and vocabulary. German-speaking visitors might struggle with certain regional dialects in some parts of the country, including the local Viennese dialect, which is far less recognisable to German speakers.

Austrian German is a version of German that is influenced by Austro-Bavarian, which is the unofficial native language of Austria. Technically, German is the main "second language" of Austria, but just about everyone in Austria speaks it, except for some older folks living in rural areas.

Austro-Bavarian is a collection of dialects native to the region, with distinct branches spoken in the northern and southern parts of the country. More than 8 million people in Austria speak Bavarian, making it the de facto main language of Austria, even though it doesn't have an official written standard.

Alemannic, or Swiss German, is another unofficial language of Austria. It is mostly spoken in the western state of Vorarlberg and has more German Swiss influences. It is spoken by about 300,000 people.

Austrian German is distinct from German German

Austrian German is a version of German influenced by Austro-Bavarian, which is the main dialect outside Vorarlberg. Austro-Bavarian differs greatly from Standard German, and German speakers from other regions may find it difficult to understand. Austro-Bavarian has distinct branches in the northern and southern parts of the country. It has no official orthography, but literary efforts, especially in poems, attempt to depict the pronunciation in the spelling.

Alemannic, or Swiss German, is the main dialect in Vorarlberg and has more German Swiss influences. It is very difficult for German speakers to understand. Alemannic is also spoken in some areas of Tyrol's Reutte District. Austria has about 300,000 Alemannic speakers in total.

While German is the official language of Austria, it is considered the main "second language" of the country. Almost all Austrians speak German, but many also speak Austro-Bavarian. German and Austro-Bavarian have influenced each other over the centuries, but translation services are still required for documents like marketing materials and legal paperwork.

The German spoken in Vienna, Austria's capital, can be particularly challenging for speakers of Standard German due to differences in accent and vocabulary. Regional accents also play a role in mutual intelligibility in some parts of Austria.

Austro-Bavarian is the unofficial native language of Austria

Although there is no language called "Austrian", the main unofficial native language of Austria is Austro-Bavarian. It is a collection of dialects native to the region, with distinct branches spoken in the northern and southern parts of the country. Austro-Bavarian is spoken by approximately 8.3 million people in Austria. In the north-eastern parts of Austria, including the capital Vienna, people speak Central Austro-Bavarian dialects, while in the south, Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects are spoken.

Austro-Bavarian is very different from Standard German, and it is difficult for German speakers from other regions to understand. Austro-Bavarian has no official orthography, but there have been literary efforts, especially in poems, to depict the sound of the pronunciation in the spelling. Some words and phrases that are rarely used in Standard German include Griaß God ('may God greet you'), Servus/Servas ('at your service'), and Pfiat di / Pfiat eich (euch) ('may God watch over you'), which are used as greetings and goodbyes.

Austro-Bavarian and German have influenced each other over the centuries, but they are distinct languages. While most Austrians speak both, translation services are still required for documents and official communications. German is the official language of Austria and is used by the government, in education, and by the media. It is also the de facto first language of the country, with almost all Austrians able to speak it. The variety of German used in Austria is Austrian German, which is influenced by Austro-Bavarian.

Austria has several minority languages

Alemannic, or Swiss German, is spoken by about 300,000 people in the Vorarlberg region. This dialect is very different from standard German and is difficult for German speakers to understand.

Austro-Bavarian is the main dialect outside of Vorarlberg and is the unofficial native language of Austria. It has approximately 8.3 million speakers in Austria and differs greatly from standard German. Austro-Bavarian has no official orthography, but there have been literary efforts to depict the pronunciation in the spelling, particularly in poems.

Austria also has several minority languages with official status. These include Hungarian, Slovenian, Burgenland-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Romany, and sign language. In Carinthia, Slovene is considered an official language, and in some districts of Burgenland, Hungarian and Croatian have equal status to German as an official language.

Other minority languages spoken in Austria include Turkish, Serbian, Romanian, Bosnian, Italian, French, and English.

English is widely spoken in Austria

While Austria's official language is German, English is widely spoken in the country. In fact, 73% of the population of Austria speaks English. This is due to English being widely taught in schools, with children receiving regular tuition in English from the age of seven upwards. According to one source, English is the first foreign language taught at most schools.

Austria places seventh out of 63 countries on Education First's English Proficiency Index, with Austrians in every age group outperforming Europe-wide averages for their levels of spoken English. Interestingly, there is a notable gender gap when it comes to English proficiency in Austria, with women being more competent English speakers than men. The size of this gender gap is larger than that found in most countries within Europe.

While English is widely spoken in Austria, it has no official status. Instead, official communications and signage use German, as that is the primary language of Austria.

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