Austro-Bavarian
Austro-Bavarian is an
Upper Germanic language or dialect spoken in Southern
Bavaria, the major part of
Austria (outside of
Vorarlberg, where an
Alemannic dialect is spoken), and
South Tyrol (politically a part of
Italy).
Like
Standard German, Austro-Bavarian is a
High German language, but they are not the same.
However, Austro-Bavarian and Standard German have influenced each other and the vast majority of Austro-Bavarian speakers speak Standard German as well.
Austro-Bavarian is also used to refer to the dialect group which includes the Austro-Bavarian dialect discussed here, as well as the Cimbrian, Hutterite German, and Mócheno dialects of German.
There are three main dialect groups in Austro-Bavarian:
Although there exist grammars, vocabularies, and a translation of the
Bible, there is no common standard for how to write the language.
Although Austro-Bavarian as a spoken language is in daily use in its region, Standard German is preferred in the
mass media.
External link
Ethnologue report for Austro-Bavarian