Bavarian ( ; Bavarian: Boarisch or Boirisch), alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language consisting of a group of dialects, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian.
Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million people in an area of around , making it the largest of all German dialects. It can be found in the German state of Bavaria (especially Old Bavaria), most of the Republic of Austria (excluding Vorarlberg) and the Italian region of South Tyrol. In 2008, 45 percent of Bavarians claimed to use only dialect in everyday communication. Prior to 1945, Bavarian was also prevalent in parts of the southern Sudetenland and western Hungary.
Language or dialect
Bavarian is commonly considered to be a dialect of German, but some sources classify it as a separate language: the International Organization for Standardization has assigned a unique ISO 639-3 language code (bar), and the UNESCO lists Bavarian in the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since 2009; however, the classification of Bavarian as an individual language has been criticized by some scholars of Bavarian.
Reasons why Bavarian can be viewed as a dialect of German include the perception of its speakers, the lack of standardization, the traditional use of Standard German as a roofing language, the relative closeness to German which does not justify Bavarian to be viewed as an abstand language, or the fact that no country applied for Bavarian to be entered into the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The difference between Bavarian and Standard German is larger than the difference between Danish and Norwegian or between Czech and Slovak.
Origins
History and etymology
The word Bavarian is derived from the name of the people who settled Bavaria along with their tribal dialect. The origin of the word is disputed. The most common theory traces the word to Bajowarjōz, meaning "inhabitants of Bojer land". In turn, Bojer (, ) originated as the name for former Celtic inhabitants of the area, with the name passing to the mixed population of Celts, Romans, and successive waves of German arrivals during the early medieval period.
The local population eventually established 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 ("Old Bavarian"), even though at this early date there were few distinctive features that would divide it from Alemannic German.
The dialectal separation of Upper German into East Upper German (Bavarian) and West Upper German (Alemannic) became more tangible in the Middle High German period, from about the 12th century.
Geographical distribution and dialects
In Europe: In Germany, the language is spoken in Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, and the Upper Palatinate districts in Bavaria. It is also spoken in southern Vogtland, in Saxony; In Austria, except Vorarlberg and Reutte; In Italy in South Tyrol and a handful of linguistic enclaves of Cimbrian and Carnic people in Northern Italy; In Switzerland, it is spoken in the village of Samnaun, in Grisons; In Sopron (Hungary) and surroundings. Outside of Europe: In Treze Tílias, Brazil In Pozuzo, Peru In the United States and Canada (Hutterite German)
Three main dialects of Bavarian are: Northern Bavarian, mainly spoken in Upper Palatinate, but also in adjacent areas (small parts of Upper Franconia (Wunsiedel (district) and Bayreuth (district)), Saxony (southern Vogtland), Middle Franconia, Upper Bavaria and Lower Bavaria). Central Bavarian along the main rivers Isar and Danube, spoken in Upper Bavaria (including Munich, which has a standard German-speaking majority), 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 Bavarian in Samnaun, Tyrol, South Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, and the southern parts of Salzburg and Burgenland.
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.