The attitude towards dialects in Europe is fundamentally different from the Russian one. If the dialect for the native inhabitant is likely to be a sign of illiteracy and a low level of education, then in Western Europe, especially in Austria, residents are proud of their local dialect. For example, in Germany, those politicians who speak the local dialect will always have an advantage over those who only speak literary German.

Literary language versus dialect

Austria has historically played the role of the capital of all German states for a long time. Therefore, many are now interested in the question of what language is spoken in Austria. The official languages ​​here are German, Hungarian and Slovenian. But at any serious events, literary German, which is called Hochdeutsch, will always be used. However, this has nothing to do with the neglect of dialects. Rather, broadcasting in a literary language occurs so that the information is understood by as many listeners as possible.

Literary German is used in all official institutions - in schools and universities. It prints books and newspapers. However, in ordinary life, “high” German is used only by guests of the country. The locals communicate with each other using a dialect. For someone who wants to understand what language is spoken in Austria, some everyday situations can be bewildering. For example, a teacher in an educational institution may conduct a lecture in an understandable literary language. And after class, turn to your friend in a dialect from which a foreigner cannot understand anything.

Which German dialect is Austrian closest to?

Even the dialects of Austria and Germany differ from each other. They say that the inhabitants of the northern and southern regions of Germany are unlikely to be able to explain themselves among themselves. Both the spoken and common official languages ​​in Austria are closer to Bavarian and also to Swiss German than to the world-wide Hochdeutsch. One of the first researchers who began to study the differences in numerous German dialects in the 18th century was Johann Popovich.

What language is spoken in Austria: differences from German

German differs from the official German in all respects. These are differences in grammar, and features of pronunciation, and vocabulary. At the end of the 19th century, the famous linguist and philologist Konrad Duden published the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the German Language. His goal was to unify and standardize German spelling. Those rules that the philologist developed became the basis of official German. However, they were not extended to the Austrian version. Thus, in Austria, German has its own characteristics.

Which one is more melodic?

Austrians find their German to be much more melodic and pleasant to listen to than the German in Germany. The Germans, of course, are convinced otherwise. However, it is possible that there is some truth in the belief of the Austrians: after all, in Austria the mitigating suffix -l is very often used. It turns dry German words like Pfand or Packung into Pfandel and Packerl.

English help

Every tourist is interested in what language is spoken in Austria. Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Baden - in these cities and in many others, most signs, announcements and names of stops are made in German.

However, in tourist congestion places, large shopping centers and hotels there are always leaflets and guides with an English version. Many Austrians also speak English and are always ready to help a lost tourist. ATMs and rail ticket vending machines are also switching from German to English throughout Austria. Any Austrian museum has an English audio version, and the largest ones even have audio guides in Russian.

Minority languages ​​in Austria

Even neighboring Germans may not know what language is spoken in, for example, and Vorarlberg is a province in which Swabian German is spoken. And in most other lands they speak South Bavarian dialects. Of great importance are the languages ​​of ethnic minorities, who live mainly near the borders of the state. These are Slovenes, Croats and Hungarians.

The native language of each of these peoples in its own way influences the language spoken in Austria. In these regions, teaching in schools is conducted in two languages. This also applies to newspapers, official signs. For example, in Styria and Carinthia, Slovene and Croatian are such additional languages. Local dialects are slowly but inevitably influencing Austrian German.

The question of what language is spoken in Austria and in Australia is unlikely to cause difficulties for anyone. After all, Australia is a mainland located thousands of kilometers from German-speaking countries. The main language of Australia is Australian English.

The name of the country comes from the ancient German Ostarrichi - "eastern country".

Austria Square. 83859 km2.

Population of Austria. 8.534 million people (

Austrian GDP. $436.3 billion (

Location of Austria. The country is located in Central. In the north it borders with and, in the east - with and, in the south - with and, in the west - with and. Has no access to the sea. Most of the territory is occupied by their foothills, the highest point is Mount Grossglockner (3797 m).

Administrative divisions of Austria. It consists of 8 federal lands and the capital district equated to them.

Form of government of Austria. Republic, with a federal state structure.

Head of State of Austria. President, elected for 6 years by popular vote.

Supreme legislature of Austria. Bicameral parliament (National Council and Federal Council), term of office - 4 years.

Supreme executive body of Austria. Government headed by the Federal Chancellor. Big cities. Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck.

State language of Austria. Deutsch.

Currency of Austria. Euro = 100 cents.

Fauna of Austria. In broad-leaved forests, there are animal species rare in Europe - red deer, elk, roe deer, brown bear. In the highlands - mountain goat, chamois, alpine marmot, alpine ptarmigan.

Rivers and lakes of Austria. (tributaries: Inn, Enns, Drava, Mur and Morava), ; 580, mostly origin, including Neusiedler See, Lake Constance.

Sights of Austria. In Vienna - the famous Vienna Opera and Burgtheater, the collection of the Academy of Fine Arts, the collection of jewels of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, Schonbrunn Palace, Belvedere Park, the oldest zoo in the world (1732); in Salzburg - the Mozart House Museum, a fort of the 11th century; in Graz - the Museum of Criminalistics, a castle of the 11th century; Cathedral of the Knights of the Teutonic Order of the XIII century; in Innsbruck - Furstenburg Castle, Hofburg Imperial Palace XIV-XVIII centuries.

Useful information for tourists

There are 2 tourist seasons - summer (July-August) and winter (Christmas). The best time to visit Vienna is late spring and early autumn.

The ski season lasts until mid-April. To use the ski lifts, you need to purchase single or one-day tickets (there are several categories) or more profitable “ski passes” for several days (for valid more than 10 days, a photo is required).

Tourist plastic cards provide free travel in any form of public transport, free (or cheaper) visits to museums and excursions, all kinds of discounts. Free maps of Vienna, transport routes, excursion programs and brochures, including in Russian, can be obtained at the Vienna Turismus office on Albertinaplatz.

Tipping is 5% of the order value, in large restaurants it is customary to leave 10% of the bill. The waiter will definitely return the change on the bill, and after that, in the same napkin, you need to give him a tip. You can leave small coins in the bar and cafe. Tipping is not given in street cafes. It is customary for a taxi driver to pay 10% over the counter, you can simply not take a change from change.

Residents of Austria, regardless of nationality, speak German. However, those wishing to stay or settle in this country are primarily concerned: will the locals understand ordinary German? Is it necessary to study the national dialect separately and what are the differences between Austrian and German speech?

Unlike Russia, where compatriots consider a person who speaks a dialect to be illiterate, the Austrians are proud and cherish their dialect. They give concerts in regional dialects and publish literature. A separate sub-dialect with characteristic pronunciation, words and set expressions can be found in each of the nine federal states.

Dialects of Austria

• Middle Bavarian - the lands of Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg, Burgenland, northern Styria and Tyrol.
• South Bavaria - the lands of southern Austria (Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol).
• Swabian - Tyrol (Reutte district).
• Upper Alemannic - the land of Vorarlberg.
• Lower Alemannic - the extreme west of the country (Vorarlberg land).
• Middle Alemannic - northwest of Vorarlberg.
• South Alemannic - the land of Vorarlberg.

German or Austrian?

The official language of Austria, according to the Constitution, is classical German - Hochdeutsch. Mass media broadcast on it, give lectures, conduct classes in educational institutions. On the literary communicate with foreigners. In everyday life, Austrians speak exclusively regional.

The national language variant, Österreichisches Deutsch, was also officially recognized. The basics were fixed in the Austrian Dictionary, published in 1951 by decision of the Ministry of Education. At the same time, the Austrian national version and the spoken Austro-Bavarian dialects were clearly separated.

Fluency in the regional language gives politics in the region an added edge over Hochdeutsch-only competitors. Locals are wary of native speakers of a pure language.

Seven differences between Austrian and German

In the official Austrian vocabulary, grammar and phonetics differ from classical German. In the 19th century, German was unified and the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the German Language was published, edited by Duden. The rules were not extended to Austrian, so it has not lost its original flavor.

1. The spoken dialects in the country and the official Austrian are more similar to the Bavarian dialect of Germany and Swiss than to the classical Hochdeutsch. Moreover, each regional dialect is actually a different language based on German.
2. In local speech, austricisms are common - language norms that are valid only in the national version. Their formation was influenced by both the Hochdeutsch and the Bavarian variants.
3. National pronunciation is softer and more melodic. The reason is the -l suffix. With him strict Sack(bag) and Packung(package) become melodious Sackerl and In most regions, "a" is rounded and pronounced like "o".
4. In the national version, there is no aspiration (breathing) of the initial letters p-, t-, k-. The pronunciation of diphthongs (two vowels in a row in a word) also differs.
5. Morphological differences between languages ​​up to two thousand. The genders of nouns do not match in grammar: die Ausschank - der Ausschank, das Cola - die Cola, der Spray - das Spray, der Butter - die Butter, etc. There are differences in the formation of the plural (die Erlasse - die Erlässe) and comparative degrees for adjectives (Dunkler - Dunkler).
6. In the national vocabulary of Austria there are more borrowings from Slavic languages, French and Italian. For example, locals will say Schale instead of Tasse (cup).
7. In Austria, it is appropriate to address each other at length: " Guten Abend, gnädige Frau"("Good morning, gracious lady"), " Grüss Gott, Herr Ingenieur"("Hello, Mr. Doctor"). In Germany, on the contrary, strict and formal phrases are adopted: “ Guten Morgen" ("Good morning"), " Guten Tag, Herr Jensen"("Good afternoon, Mr. Jensen"). Addressed officially by last name.

People from different regions of the country sometimes do not understand each other. In Upper Austria, the dialect is similar to Bavarian. In the west of Tyrol, speech is influenced by the Alemannic dialect. In the capital, a separate language variant is Weinerisch. Therefore, even relatives living in different lands face linguistic misunderstandings.

Examples of language differences for the lexical group of foods

Difficulties in mastering a dialect

Austrian for foreigners is a separate language, less audible than classical German. In some, it, along with Chinese, inspires horror, in others it makes you gradually get used to and understand. In addition, the literary speech here is constantly replenished from the Viennese and regional dialects.

To those who study Österreichisches Deutsch, it will not seem more complicated than the classical one. Those who already know Hochdeutsch with the correct articles and endings will need to re-learn the sound of half of the sounds for a clear pronunciation.

Most of all, difficulties will arise with sayings and established expressions. Therefore, ideally, in order to become fluent in Austrian, you need:

• settle in an indigenous family;
• go to language courses;
• apply for a job;
• communicate more with the locals.

For a person working in a team where they speak the dialect, over time, the basic “correct” Hochdeutsch mutates. Subconsciously, he will copy the expressions and intonation of others. The main assistants in such a matter are a solid knowledge of the grammar and spelling of standard German.

Subtleties of mutual understanding in Austria

All residents of the country, from teenagers to grandmothers, understand the usual Hochdeutsch, although they speak with a clear accent. At the same time, the inhabitants of the Alpine regions hardly perceive the “classics” by ear. A visitor with knowledge of German can easily understand the speech of TV and radio presenters, and will explain himself to the professor. But the answer of the seller or the conversation of new friends will not be clear to him.

After a couple of months of living in one of the regions of the country, the guest will understand the principle of differences in dialects and easily translate what he heard into classical speech in his mind. He will also find the main similarities between Hochdeutsch and Österreichisches Deutsch, for example, in prepositions.

If you have any difficulties in communicating in Austria or you are just planning to go to this country and learn German, ask questions in the comments to the article. Have conversational experience in the dialect? Share it with your readers!

The official language is German. Having a fairly characteristic local pronunciation and many idiomatic expressions, everyday Austrian differs markedly from "hochdeutsch" (literary German). Austrian dialects are close to Bavarian Germany and German Switzerland, while local dialects can be traced almost everywhere. Many areas have their own characteristic slang, often incomprehensible even to neighbors, but in communication, local residents still try to adhere to the "standard" language. According to various estimates, it is constantly used by 85 to 88% of the population, but almost everyone understands it.

At the same time, in Burgenland, even at the official level, one can often hear Croatian (it is spoken by about 1.6% of the country's population) and Hungarian, in southern Carinthia - Slovenian and Serbian, there are compact communes with a predominantly Turkish and Slovak population.

Communication with local residents

Although many Austrians in the cities have a fairly good command of English (it is taught as a second language in all schools), it is generally not easy to communicate in any other language other than German in the country. Given that German cannot be classified as easy, the problem of communication in the provinces can be quite significant. In addition, the Austrians speak German with a noticeable accent, and each region or region has its own dialect, even in the capital a separate dialect has developed - Weinerisch. However, "standard German" is known to almost everyone.

Slavic languages ​​(Slovene, Czech, Croatian and others) are quite widespread in the border areas, Hungarian - in the east, gypsy - in the southeast. The preservation of such languages ​​and cultures is guaranteed by Austrian constitutional law. However, over the past quarter century, the number of speakers of these languages ​​has declined sharply (95% of the population consider themselves ethnic Austrians, even despite their origin).

Austrian is a variation of standard German. It has its own written and spoken form. It is used in Austria and northern Italy. This language is considered the most important in the area. It is he who is the main one in the media and other formal situations. In everyday life, many Austrians use the Bavarian and Alemannic dialects of the German language.

Republic of Austria

The language, which is now official in the state, originated in the middle of the 18th century. In 1774, Empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II introduced compulsory schooling. At that time, the Habsburg Empire was multilingual. The written standard was considered "High German". The Bavarian and Alemannic dialects had a significant influence on him. The linguist Johann Sigmund Popovich proposed to create a new standard. Its basis was to be the South German dialects. However, for practical reasons, it was decided to fix the "Saxon clerical" language as the standard. It was originally used as an administrative office in the Meissen and Dresden areas.

Modern Austria is a European state, its capital is Vienna. It borders on the north with Germany. leaves 8.66 million people. It is dominated by indigenous people. Among the national minorities are Germans, Serbs and Turks. The total area of ​​the state is 83.879 square kilometers. Austrian German is softer and more melodic, which is facilitated by the widespread use of the -l suffix. This language is spoken by 88.6% of the population. Both the written and spoken language of the inhabitants of Austria differ from the official German language. Most of all, it is similar to the Bavarian dialect.

Thus, the official Austrian language has the same geographical origin as Swedish and German proper. However, each country has its own dialects. This separate writing form has been used for many years. It is very complex in its grammatical structure and vocabulary. "Saxon clerical" language is not easy to understand even for native Austrians and Germans. It contains a lot of special terms. This uniform has no regional variations, as it was used by the government, which has been based in Vienna for many years. Today it is used less and less, in documents it is gradually being replaced by standard German.

Modern Austrian

The new written standard was developed by Joseph von Sonnenfels. It has been used in modern school textbooks since 1951. They are published by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture. Prior to this, for almost 300 years, the dialect spoken by the Habsburg imperial family and the nobility was considered the standard. It featured a greater degree of nasal sounds compared to the modern variant. The language was not fixed as a standard - it was spoken by high society.

German is the official language in Austria according to the Constitution of the Republic. It is spoken by about 8 million people. The law also recognizes minorities. Slovene is used in Carinthia and Styria, Hungarian and Croatian in Burgenland.

Like a dialect

The German language is pluricentric. Therefore, it cannot be said which of its forms, adopted as official in other states, is correct. The Austrian language appears to be one of the varieties of standard German. The situation is similar to the relationship between British and American English. There is a difference in some minor aspects (for example, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar), however, residents of Austria and Germany can communicate.

Standard German in Austria

The official dictionary defines the rules of grammar and pronunciation accepted in the state. The last reform took place in 1996. However, the Republic of Austria uses the language a little differently than they do in Germany. Differences in culinary, economic and legal terms are especially noticeable. This is due to the historical features of the formation of Austria and Germany as separate states from the end of the 19th century.

Grammar and vocabulary

Austrian, like Swiss, uses the auxiliary verb sein in the perfect not only to express movement, but also a state. In oral speech, the preterite form is almost never used. The exception is some Austrian German also differs lexically. For example, in Germany, January is called Januar. In Austria - Jänner, "this year" is translated as heur, not dieses Jahr, "ladder" - Stiege, not Treppe, "chimney" - Rauchfang, not Schornstein. Many administrative, legal and political terms, product names differ. Among them:

• Potato. In German - Kartoffeln. In Austrian - Erdäpfel.
• Whipped cream. In German - Schlagsahne. In Austrian - Schlagobers.
• Beef. In German - Hackfleisch. In Austrian - Faschiertes.
• Green bean. In German - Kartoffeln. In Austrian - Erdäpfel.
• Cauliflower. In German - Blumenkohl. In Austrian - Karfiol.
• Brussels sprouts. In German - Rosenkohl. In Austrian - Kohlsprossen.
• Apricots. In German - Aprikosen. In Austrian - Marillen.
• Tomatoes. In German - Paradeiser. In Austrian - Tomaten.
• Pancakes. In German - Pfannkuchen. In Austrian - Palatschinken.
• Curd. In German - Quark. In Austrian - Topfen.
• Horseradish. In German - Meerrettich. In Austrian - Kren.

We must not forget about the "false friends" of the translator. Some words in both languages ​​are spelled the same but have completely different meanings.

Regional aspects

Austrian German includes a number of dialects. They can be heard in everyday speech. It is easier for the inhabitants of Bavaria to understand the Austrians. Simple words are the same or very similar in many dialects, but they can be pronounced differently. It is often possible to understand where the interlocutor was born almost immediately. After Austria joined the European Union, its official language was protected under Protocol No. 10. A total of 23 terms were identified that relate to the field of agriculture. It should be noted that this is an unprecedented case. Austrian German is the only pluricentric language recognized by international or European law.