German is the national official language[1] and constitutes a lingua franca and de facto first 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.[3]
Alemannic
Alemannic, i.e., Swiss German, is spoken by about 300,000 people, mostly in Vorarlberg.[4][3] Vorarlberg uses a High Alemannic, the same dialect group as that spoken in Northern Switzerland (outside Basel) and parts of southern Alsace, France. To most German-speakers, it is very difficult to understand.[5]
Austro-Bavarian
The main native language of Austria outside Vorarlberg is Austro-Bavarian. It has approximately 8.3 million speakers in Austria.[6] The north-eastern parts of Austria (with the capital Vienna) speak Central Austro-Bavarian dialects and the southern parts Southern Austro-Bavarian dialects.
Austro-Bavarian differs greatly from Standard German, making it very difficult for German speakers of different regions to understand the native population.
Austro-Bavarian has no official orthography,[7] but there are literary efforts (de:Dialektliteratur), especially in poems, to depict the sound of the pronunciation in the spelling. Other words can only be heard while visiting particular regions of Austria and Bavaria; such words/phrases are only rarely used in Standard German. These include Griaß God (literally: 'greet God' = 'may God greet you'), and Servus/Servas 'at your service' as greeting phrases. Other terms are strictly dialectal, like Pfiat di / Pfiat eich (euch) (literally: 'watch over you [God]' = 'may God watch over you'), meaning 'goodbye'.
A number of minority languages are spoken in Austria, some of which have official status.[8] According to the European Commission, Austria's "recognized minority languages are Hungarian, Slovenian, Burgenland-Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Romany and sign language. In the mixed-language districts of Carinthia, Slovene is also considered an official language. In some districts of Burgenland, Hungarian and Croatian have equal status to German as an official language."[9] About 250 languages are spoken throughout Austria, though many have very small populations of speakers.[9] Only about 20 languages (apart from official languages of Austria) have more than 10,000 speakers.[8]
Non-Official Languages with 10,000+ speakers in Austria (2021)[8]
Language
Number of speakers (in Austria)
French*
1,181,300 (L1: 11,300)
Italian*
795,900 (L1: 11,900)
Spanish*
302,100 (L1: 11,100)
Russian*
150,000 (L1: 9,390)
Serbo-Croatian
381,800
Turkish
204,000
Hungarian
45,100
Polish
34,000
Albanian (Gheg)
31,400
Albanian (Tosk)
28,200
Slovene
27,600
Bergenland Croatian
21,600
Czech
19,700
Arabic (Levantine)
19,600
Romanian
18,800
Persian (Iranian)
11,900
Slovak
11,400
Chinese (Mandarin)
11,100
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian is the largest minority language in Austria, spoken by more than 4% of the population.
Turkish
Turkish is the second largest minority language, in a situation almost mirroring that of Germany, spoken by 2.3% of the population.
Romanian
In 2021, Ethnologue reports there were an estimated 18,800 Romanian speakers in Austria.[10]
Burgenland Croatian
Burgenland Croatian, an official language in Austrian 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.
While little spoken today, Hungarian has traditionally held an important position in Austria due to the historical ties between the two countries. Today, Hungarian is spoken by around 1,000 people in Burgenland.
Areas in Carinthia where Slovene is spoken by above 5% (light-blue) to above 30% (dark-blue) of the population.
Slovene is an official language in Austrian Carinthia. As of the census in 2001[update] Slovene is used by 12,686 Austrians as vernacular, and it is reported that Slovene can be spoken by 0.3% of Austrians. Carinthian Slovenes are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights and affirmative action following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955.
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
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