Languages of Austria
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Languages of Austria
Official language(s)
German (
Austrian German)Significant unofficial language(s)
Allemanic
Austro-BavarianRegional language(s)
Burgenland Croatian,
Slovene,
Hungarian,
Czech,
Slovak,
RomaniMinority language(s)
TurkishMain
foreign language(s)
English (58%)
French (10%)
Sign language(s)
Austrian Sign LanguageCommon
keyboard layout(s)
QWERTZ

Source
ebs_243_en.pdf (
europa.eu)
The Languages of Austria include
German, the official language and
lingua franca, Austro-Bavarian, the main language outside Vorarlberg, Alemannic, the main language in Vorarlberg, and several minority languages.
Contents
[hide]
[edit] German
German is the national official language and constitutes a
lingua franca and
de facto second language: most Austrians other than (mostly rural) seniors are able to speak it. It is the language used in media, in schools, and formal announcements. The variety of German used,
Austrian German is partially influenced by Austro-Bavarian and uses many "Germanized" words and expressions deriving from it.

High Alemannic German speaking areas marked in yellow, including part of the Austrian state of Vorarlberg (Switzerland).
[edit] Alemannic
Alemannic is spoken in
Vorarlberg. Vorarlberg uses a
High Alemannic, the same dialect group as that spoken in Northern Switzerland (outside Basel) and parts of southern Alsace, France. It is fairly mutually intelligible with German; however, many Germans find it difficult to understand due to the phonological and grammatical differences.
[edit] Austro-Bavarian
The main native language of Austria outside Vorarlberg is Austro-Bavarian, which is spoken using many different dialects. The northern parts of Austria (including
Vienna, the capital) speak
Central Austro-Bavarian dialects and the southern parts
Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects. Austro-Bavarian is largely mutually intelligible with German, especially the Central dialects.
[edit] Minority languages
A number of minority languages are spoken in Austria, some of which have official status.
[edit] Turkish
Turkish is the largest minority language, in a situation mirroring that of
Germany, spoken by some 2.3% of the population.
[edit] Serbian
Serbian is the second most spoken minority language, with usage by 2.2% of Austrians.
[edit] Burgenland Croatian
Burgenland Croatian, an official language in
Burgenland, is spoken by 2.5% of Austrians, and
Burgenland Croats are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the
Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955.

Hungarian-speaking areas in Europe, including a portion of the Austrian state of Burgenland.
[edit] Hungarian
While little spoken today, Hungarian has traditionally held an important position in Austria (or, more correctly,
Austria-Hungary). Today, Hungarian is spoken by around 20,000 people (.05% of the Austrian population) in Burgenland.
[edit] Bosnian
The least spoken of Austria's minority languages, the
Bosnian language is spoken by some .04% of the Austrian population.
[edit] Slovene
Slovene, an official language in
Carinthia, is spoken by 0.3% of Austrians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carinthian_Slovenes
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