Austria's Germanic Language Heritage: A Complex History

Austria and Germany share a lot of history, and for most of their history, they were the same country. It was only after World War I that Austria began to establish itself as a separate nation. German is the official language of Austria and is spoken by nearly all Austrians. The dialect of German spoken in Austria is called Austrian German, which is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect. Austrian German is different from German as spoken in Germany, and the two have distinct vocabularies and accents.

Austrian German is the official language of Austria

The dialect of German spoken in Austria, except in the west, is Bavarian, or Austro-Bavarian. About seven million people in Austria speak Bavarian, which is divided into Central Austro-Bavarian and Southern Austro-Bavarian subdialects. Central Austro-Bavarian is spoken in Ober- and Niederösterreich, as well as in Vienna, while Southern Austro-Bavarian is spoken in Tirol, Kärnten, and parts of Steiermark.

In the west of Austria, an Alemannic (Swiss) dialect is prevalent, specifically in Vorarlberg and parts of western Tirol. This dialect has cultural and linguistic affinities with German-speaking Swiss to the west and Swabians in Germany to the north.

In addition to German, several minority languages are spoken in Austria, including Croatian, Hungarian, Slovenian, Turkish, and others. These languages are recognised as official languages in certain regions and are used in native language schooling and official communication with the authorities.

The history of Austria is closely tied to that of Germany, and the two countries were once part of the same empire. However, after World War I, Austria established itself as a separate nation, and today, the majority of Austrians do not identify as German. The development of a distinct Austrian national identity has led to a greater emphasis on their unique language, Austrian German.

Austrian German is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect

Austrian German, also known as Austrian Standard German (ASG) or simply Austrian, is the variety of Standard German written and spoken in Austria and South Tyrol. It is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect, which is traditionally spoken but rarely written in Austria. In less formal situations, Austrians use the Bavarian and Alemannic dialects.

The history of Austrian German can be traced back to the mid-18th century when Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II introduced compulsory schooling and several administrative reforms in their multilingual Habsburg Empire. The written standard at the time was Oberdeutsche Schreibsprache (Upper German written language), heavily influenced by the Bavarian and Alemannic dialects of Austria. Today, Austrian German is defined by the Österreichisches Wörterbuch ("Austrian Dictionary"), which was first published in 1951.

Austrian German differs from German as spoken in Germany and is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect. While there is no common orthographic standard for Austro-Bavarian, it is considered a separate language by some sources, and it has been assigned a unique ISO 639-3 language code (bar) by the International Organization for Standardization.

The Austro-Bavarian dialect can be further divided into Central Austro-Bavarian and Southern Austro-Bavarian. Central Austro-Bavarian is spoken along the main rivers of Isar and Danube in northern parts of the State of Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and northern Burgenland. Southern Austro-Bavarian is spoken in Tyrol, South Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, and the southern parts of Salzburg and Burgenland.

While Austrian German is the official language in Austria, the country also recognizes the languages of various autonomous ethnic groups as official languages in certain regions. These include Burgenland Croatian, Romani, Slovak, Slovenian, Czech, and Hungarian.

German is the official language in Austria

Austrian German has its roots in the mid-18th century, when Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II introduced compulsory schooling and several administrative reforms in their multilingual Habsburg Empire. The written standard at the time was Oberdeutsche Schreibsprache (Upper German written language), heavily influenced by the Bavarian and Alemannic dialects of Austria. However, Empress Maria Theresa and her son opted to adopt the already-standardized chancellery language of Saxony, based on the administrative language of Meißen and Dresden, for pragmatic reasons.

In less formal situations, Austrians use Bavarian and Alemannic dialects, which are traditionally spoken but rarely written. The Alemannic dialect is mainly spoken in Vorarlberg and parts of western Tyrol, while the rest of Austria speaks the Bavarian dialect or a variant of it. About seven million people in Austria speak a Central or Southern Bavarian dialect or a colloquial language influenced by these dialects.

Austrian German is distinct from German as spoken in Germany or Switzerland, and it has been standardized since the publication of the Österreichisches Wörterbuch in 1951. The official Austrian dictionary, Österreichisches Wörterbuch, prescribes spelling rules that define the official language. Austrian German is also the only variety of a pluricentric language recognized under international law or EU primary law.

Bavarian dialect is spoken in most of Austria

The official language of Austria is Austrian German, which differs from German as spoken in Germany. Austrian German is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect, which is spoken in most of Austria.

Bavarian, or Austro-Bavarian, is a group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria and the Italian region of South Tyrol. It is considered a dialect of German, but some classify it as a separate language. The International Organization for Standardization has assigned it a unique language code, and UNESCO lists it as an endangered language.

Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million people across 125,000 square kilometres, making it the largest of all German dialects. In Austria, all states except Vorarlberg and parts of Reutte in Tirol speak the Bavarian dialect or a variant of it. Seven million Austrians speak a Central or Southern Bavarian dialect, or a colloquial language influenced by these dialects.

The difference between Bavarian and Standard German is larger than the difference between Danish and some varieties of Norwegian, or between Czech and Slovak. Bavarian has its own distinct vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, and is considered difficult for native Standard German speakers to adopt. However, most Bavarian speakers can also speak Standard German, which is the primary medium of education in Austria and Bavaria.

Austro-Bavarian has its origins in the Germanic tribe known as the Bavarii, who established a tribal duchy covering much of what is today Bavaria and parts of Austria in the early Middle Ages. The name 'Bavarian' is derived from the name of this tribe and their dialect.

Alemannic dialect is spoken in the west of Austria

Austria's official language is German, which is considered a lingua franca and the de facto first language of the country. However, Austrian German differs from the German spoken in Germany, with variations in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. For instance, the "ch" sound in Austrian German is often pronounced as an aspirated "h", and the word for "bread" in Germany, "Brötchen", becomes "Semmel" in Austria.

The diversity of languages in Austria is due in part to its history and the various groups that have settled in the region over time. The territory of present-day Austria was once divided into Raetia, Noricum, and Pannonia during the Roman era. Later, in the Migration period around the 6th century, Bavarians and other Germanic groups, such as the Alemanni in Vorarlberg and the Lombards in Tyrol, settled in the western regions, while Slavic groups, Huns, and Avars settled in the east.

Alemannic, or Swiss German, is indeed spoken in the west of Austria, primarily in the state of Vorarlberg, which shares cultural and dialectal affinities with German-speaking Switzerland to the west and the Swabians in Germany to the north. Vorarlberg uses a High Alemannic dialect, which is part of the same dialect group spoken in northern Switzerland (outside of Basel) and parts of southern Alsace, France. This dialect is quite distinct from standard German, posing significant comprehension challenges for German speakers from other regions.

Alemannic is one of several dialects spoken throughout Austria. Outside of Vorarlberg, the main dialect is Austro-Bavarian, which has approximately 8.3 million speakers. The northeastern parts of Austria, including Vienna, speak Central Austro-Bavarian dialects, while the southern parts speak Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects. The Austro-Bavarian dialect differs markedly from Standard German, making it difficult for German speakers from other regions to understand.

In addition to these dialects, there are also several minority languages spoken in Austria, some of which have official status. These include Hungarian, Slovenian, Burgenland-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Romani, and sign language. The recognition of these languages and the preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity are important aspects of Austria's cultural landscape.

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