The Languages of Austria include
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
, the official and most widely spoken language, and several minority languages.
German is the only nationally
official languageAn official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
, and the language spoken by the largest proportion of
AustriansAustrians are a nation and an ethnic group originating from the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent...
. A number of dialects are spoken.
Austrian GermanAustrian German , or Austrian Standard German, is the national standard variety of the German language spoken in Austria and in South Tyrol...
is the catch-all term for German in Austria, which can differ from
Standard GermanStandard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
to the many local vernaculars.
AlemannicAlemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy...
dialects are mainly spoken in
VorarlbergVorarlberg is the westernmost and wealthiest state of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian federal state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol to the east...
, and are quite divergent from Standard German.
The Languages of Austria include
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
, the official and most widely spoken language, and several minority languages.
German
German is the only nationally
official languageAn official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
, and the language spoken by the largest proportion of
AustriansAustrians are a nation and an ethnic group originating from the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent...
. A number of dialects are spoken.
Austrian GermanAustrian German , or Austrian Standard German, is the national standard variety of the German language spoken in Austria and in South Tyrol...
is the catch-all term for German in Austria, which can differ from
Standard GermanStandard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
to the many local vernaculars.
Alemannic
AlemannicAlemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy...
dialects are mainly spoken in
VorarlbergVorarlberg is the westernmost and wealthiest state of Austria. Though it is the second smallest in terms of area it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian federal state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol to the east...
, and are quite divergent from Standard German. The
Alemannic spoken in Vorarlberg can be further divided into the High Alemannic variety.
Austro-Bavarian
The majority of Austrian German-speakers speak dialects belonging to the
Austro-BavarianAustro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German varieties. Like standard German, Austro-Bavarian is a High German language, but they are not the same language...
group, and there is little linguistic barrier between Austrians and those living in southern Germany.
Minority languages
A number of minority languages are spoken in Austria, some of which have official status.
Turkish
TurkishTurkish is spoken as a first language by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other...
is the largest minority language, in a situation mirroring that of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, spoken by some 2.3% of the population.
Serbian
SerbianSerbian is a South Slavic language, spoken chiefly in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and in the Serbian diaspora...
is the second most spoken minority language, with usage by 2.2% of Austrians.
Croatian
CroatianCroatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
, an official language in
BurgenlandBurgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities...
, is spoken by 1.6% of Austrians, and Croatians are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the
Austrian State TreatyThe Austrian State Treaty or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on May 15, 1955, in Vienna at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers and the Austrian government...
(Staatsvertrag) of 1955.
Hungarian
While little spoken today, Hungarian has traditionally held an important position in Austria (or, more correctly,
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
). Today, Hungarian is spoken by around 20,000 people (.05% of the Austrian population) in Burgenland.
Bosnian
The least spoken of Austria's minority languages, the
Bosnian languageBosnian is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region of Sandžak in Serbia and Montenegro, although it is also spoken in various places throughout the world, as many speakers were forced to become refugees during the Bosnian war...
is spoken by some .04% of the Austrian population.
Slovene
Slovene, an official language in
CarinthiaCarinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes....
, is spoken by 0.3% of Austrians.
Carinthian SlovenesCarinthian Slovenes are the Slovene-speaking population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council...
are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955.
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
Austria ratified the
European Charter for Regional or Minority LanguagesThe European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European treaty adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical regional and minority languages in Europe...
on 28 June 2001 for the following languages in respect of specific
LänderAustria is a federal republic made up of nine states, known in German as Länder . Since Land is also the German word for a sovereign state, the term Bundesländer is often used instead to avoid ambiguity. The Constitution of Austria uses both terms...
- Croatian
Croatian is a South Slavic language which is used primarily in Croatia, by Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by Croatian minorities in some neighbouring countries, in the Italian region of Molise, and parts of the Croatian diaspora....
of BurgenlandBurgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities...
- Slovene (in Carinthia
Carinthia is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern Alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes....
and Styria)
- Hungarian
Hungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
(in Burgenland and ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
)
- Czech
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. Czech is similar to and mutually intelligible with Slovak and, to a lesser extent, to Polish and Sorbian. - Official status :Czech is widely...
(in Vienna)
- Slovak
The Slovak language , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages ....
(in Vienna)
- Romani
Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is the language of the Romani people. It is an Indo-Aryan language, sometimes included in either the "Central" or the "Northwestern" group, sometimes treated as a branch of its own.Romani is a macrolanguage in the ISO 639 classification, taken to consist of...
(in Burgenland)