Bavarian language
| Bavarian | |
|---|---|
| () | |
| Region | Austria, Bavaria, and South Tyrol |
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Native speakers
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14,000,000 (2015) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog |
bava1246 (Bavarian proper)baye1239 (Bayerisch)
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Location map of Bavarian
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Bavarian (Austro-Bavarian: [ˈbɔɑrɪʃ]; German: [ˈbaɪ̯ʀɪʃ]; Hungarian: ), is a major group of Upper German varieties spoken in the southeast of the German language area, largely covered by Bavaria and Austria. It forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants.
The Bavarians as a group formed in the early medieval period, as the population of the Duchy of Bavaria, forming the south-eastern part of the kingdom of Germany. The Old High German documents from the area of Bavaria are identified as Altbairisch ("Old Bavarian"), even though at this early date there are few distinctive features that would divide it from Alemannic. The dialectal separation of Upper German into East Upper German (Bavarian) and West Upper German (Alemannic) becomes more tangible in the Middle High German period, from about the 12th century.
Three main dialect groups in Bavarian are:
Differences are clearly noticeable within those three subgroups, which in Austria often coincide with the borders of the particular states. For example, each of the accents of Carinthia, Styria, and Tyrol can be easily recognised. Also, there is a marked difference between eastern and western central Bavarian, roughly coinciding with the border between Austria and Bavaria. In addition, the Viennese dialect has some characteristics distinguishing it from all other dialects. In Vienna, minor, but recognizable, variations are characteristic for distinct districts of the city.
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Wikipedia