Bavarian language
| Austro-Bavarian | |
|---|---|
| Boarisch | |
| Region |  Austria Germany,  Bavaria Italy,  Bolzano-Bozen |
Native speakers | 12 million |
Indo-European
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | gem |
| ISO 639-3 | bar |
 | |
Austro-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. However, Austro-Bavarian and Standard German have influenced each other and the vast majority of Austro-Bavarian speakers speak Standard German as well.[1]
History and origin
The Austro-Bavarian regiolect has its origins in the Germanic tribe known as the Bavarii, who established a tribal duchy, which covered much of what is today Bavaria and some of Austria in the early Middle Ages and was eventually subdued by Charlemagne. However, they gradually migrated down the Danube and into the Alps to all those areas where Austro-Bavarian dialects are spoken. German linguists refer to this speech variety, a group of three East Upper German dialects, simply as "Bairisch" (Bavarian, without "Austro"). They are divided into "Oberpfälzisch" (Upper Palatinian, e.g. North Bavarian), "Donaubairisch" (Danube[ian] Bavarian, e.g. Central Bavarian) and "Alpenbairisch" (Alpine Bavarian, e.g. South Bavarian).
These areas had been provinces of the Roman Empire, and the languages of the population were based on Latin, but this language was replaced by the Germanic dialects of the immigrants as the previous inhabitants were assimilated or forced out. This development contrasts with that in the provinces of Gallia and Hispania, where the Germanic languages of the conquerors of those territories were able to exert only a limited influence on the Romance dialects of the local populations.
In German, the very old word "Bairisch", referring to the language, is typically differentiated from the 19th-century term "Bayerisch", which refers to the state of Bavaria. Because of King Ludwig I's passion all things Hellenic, the German name for Bavaria today is spelled "Bayern", using the Greek 'y', it also reflects the growth of Bavaria after the Vienna Congress into culturally non-Bavarian areas, e.g. Franconia and Swabia, and the attempts to integrate them into the newly formed kingdom. The language spoken there has retained its original Germanic spelling "Bairisch", using the Roman 'i'.
Latin influence
Because of its interaction with the Romance dialects of pre-Germanic inhabitants, some Latin language influence may be seen in Austro-Bavarian's morphology and lexicon.[citation needed] Examples of Latinate vocabulary include "Semmel" or "Semmi" from the Latin "seminare" (seed) and toponyms like Bregenz ("Brigantia"), Regensburg ("Castra Regina"), Passau ("Castra Batavia"), Wels ("Ovilava"), Linz ("Lentia"), Wien ("Vindobona").
Classification
The SIL code for Bavarian language is BAR. It has no ISO 639 code of its own, but is classified under the "Germanic (Other)" collective language code "gem". Genetically, Bavarian is part of the Upper German family along with Alemannic (which includes Swabian and Swiss German), whereas Standard German is part of the Middle German family, closer to Saxon, which - linguistically - is a Thuringian dialect.
Regions where Austro-Bavarian is spoken
- in Bavaria:
- in Upper Bavaria
- in Lower Bavaria
- in the Upper Palatinate
- in Austria:
- in all parts of the country with the exception of the federal-state of Vorarlberg and parts of the Reutte district in Tirol , where an Alemannic dialect is spoken.
- in Switzerland:
- in the village of Samnaun, in Graubünden.
- in Italy:
- in all of the province of Bolzano-Bozen (South Tyrol) and by small German speaking communities in Veneto.
- in Hungary:
- the city of Sopron (Ödenburg) is officially bi-lingual.
Subgroups
There are three main dialect groups in Austro-Bavarian:
- Northern Austro-Bavarian, also spoken in the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel);
- Central Austro-Bavarian (along the main rivers Isar and Danube, spoken in Munich (by 20% of the People), Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, southern Upper Palatinate, the Swabian district of Aichach-Friedberg, the northern parts of the State of Salzburg, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Vienna (see Viennese German) and the Northern Burgenland)
- Southern Austro-Bavarian (in Tyrol, Bolzano-Bozen, Carinthia, Styria, and the southern parts of Salzburg and Burgenland).
There are clearly noticeable differences 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 Austro-Bavarian, roughly coinciding with the border between Austria and Bavaria. In addition, the Viennese dialect ("Schönbrunner Deutsch", with its melodical "singing" and the very bright "a") has some characteristics distinguishing it from all other dialects.
However, the various Austro-Bavarian dialects are normally mutually intelligible, with the possible exception of some versions of Tyrolean.
Use
In contrast to many other dialects of German, Austro-Bavarian differs sufficiently from Standard German to make it difficult for native Austro-Bavarian speakers to adopt standard pronunciation. All educated Bavarians and Austrians, however, can read, write and understand standard German but may have very little opportunity to speak it, especially in rural areas. In those regions Standard German is restricted to use as the language of writing. It is therefore often referred to as "Schriftdeutsch" (written German) rather than the usual term "Hochdeutsch" (High German or Standard German).
School
Bavaria and Austria officially use Standard German as the primary medium of education. With the spread of universal education, the exposure of speakers of Austro-Bavarian to Standard German has been increasing, and many younger people, especially in the region's cities, and larger towns speak standard German with only a slight accent. In Austria, some parts of grammar and spelling are taught into Standard German lessons. There is no unified documented grammar or spelling system for Austro-Bavarian. As reading and writing in Austro-Bavarian is generally not taught at schools, almost all literate speakers of the language prefer to use Standard German for writing.
Literature
Although there exist grammars, vocabularies, and a translation of the Bible in Austro-Bavarian, there is no common orthographic standard. There is poetry written in various Austro-Bavarian dialects, and many pop songs use the language as well, especially ones belonging to the Austropop wave of the 1970s and 1980s.
Although Austro-Bavarian as a spoken language is in daily use in its region, standard German, often with strong regional influence, is preferred in the mass media.
On the use of Austro-Bavarian and standard German in Austria see Austrian German.
Grammar
The simple past tense is very rare in Austro-Bavarian, and has been retained with only a very few verbs, including 'to be' and 'to want'. In general, the perfect is used to express past time.
Society
Bavarians usually cultivate a large variety of nicknames for those who bear traditional Bavarian or German names like Joseph, Theresa or Edmund (becoming Sepp'l or more common Sepp, Resi and Ede respectively). Bavarians often refer to names with the family name coming first (like der Stoiber Ede instead of Edmund Stoiber). The use of the article is considered mandatory when using this linguistic variation.
Bavarian versus Austrian Language
Because they have developed from a common ancestor, the dialects of Bavaria and Austria are very closely related. Nevertheless, they have also developed independently, especially since the development of national boundaries between the two regions. This has resulted in minor differences in lexis and phonology and had a substantial influence on their sociolinguistic status.
Samples of Bavarian and Austrian
| Austrian | S' Boarische is a Grubbm vô Dialektn im Sü(i)dn vôm daitschn Språchraum. |
|---|---|
| Bavarian | S' Boarische is a Grubbm vo Dialekt im Sidn vom daitschn Språchraum. |
| German | Das Bairische ist eine Gruppe von Dialekten im Süden des deutschen Sprachraumes. |
| English | Bavarian is a group of dialects in the south of the German speaking area. |
| Austrian | Serwas/Hawedèrè/Griaß Di, i bî da Pèda und kumm/kimm vô Minga. |
|---|---|
| Bavarian | Serwus/Habèderè/Griaß Di, i bin/bî da Pèda und kumm/kimm vo Minga. |
| German | Hallo, ich bin Peter und ich komme aus München. |
| English | Hello, I'm Peter and I come from Munich. |
| Austrian | D'Lisa/'s-Liasl håd se an Hàxn brochn/brocha. |
|---|---|
| Bavarian | As Liasal håd se an Hàxn/Hàx brocha. |
| German | Lisa hat sich das Bein gebrochen. |
| English | Lisa has broken her leg. |
| Austrian | I hå/håb/hã/hò a Göid/Gòid gfundn. |
|---|---|
| Bavarian | I hå/håb a Gèid/Gòid/Göld gfundn/gfuna. |
| German | Ich habe Geld gefunden. |
| English | I have found money. |
See also
External links
- Ethnologue report for Austro-Bavarian
- Bavarian - English Dictionary from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition
References
- ^ 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.