Bavarian ( German : Bairisch [ˈbaɪʁɪʃ] ; Bavarian : Boarisch, Boirisch ), alternately Austro-Bavarian , is a major group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria , most of Austria and the Italian region of South Tyrol . Prior to 1945, Bavarian was also prevalent in parts of the southern Sudetenland and western Hungary . Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million people in an area of around 125,000 square kilometres (48,000 sq mi), making it the largest of all German dialects . In 2008, 45 percent of Bavarians claimed to use only dialect in everyday communication.
24-520: Bamberger is a Bavarian and Southern German toponymic surname , and it indicates someone from Bamberg in Bavaria . Notable people with the surname include: Bamberger may also refer to a citizen of the German city of Bamberg or to organisations connected with that city: Bavarian language Bavarian is commonly considered to be a dialect of German , but some sources classify it as
48-442: A number of features with Yiddish . High German languages This is an accepted version of this page The High German languages ( German : hochdeutsche Mundarten , i.e. High German dialects ), or simply High German ( Hochdeutsch [ˈhoːxˌdɔɪ̯t͡ʃ] ) – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of
72-702: 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
96-518: Is also the indefinite pronoun ebba(d) , "someone" with its impersonal form ebb(a)s , "something". It is inflected in the following way: The interrogative pronouns wea , "who", and wås , "what" are inflected the same way the indefinite pronoun ebba is inflected. Bavarians produce a variety of nicknames for those who bear traditional Bavarian or German names like Josef, Theresa or Georg (becoming Sepp'l or more commonly Sepp , Resi and Schorsch , respectively). Bavarians often refer to names with
120-468: Is an alternative naming many High German dialect speakers regard justified. Bavaria and Austria officially use Standard German as the primary medium of education. With the spread of universal education, the exposure of speakers of 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. This accent usually only exists in families where Bavarian
144-505: Is called Hausname (en: name of the house) and is seldom used to name the person, but more to state where they come from or live or to whom they are related. Examples of this are: Bayerish iz a grupe dyalektn afn dorem funem daytshishn shprakh-kontinuum. Sholem-aleykhem, ikh bin Peter un ikh kum fun Minkhn. Lize/Lizl hot zikh (hotsekh) tsebrokhn dem fus. ikh hob (kh'hob) gefunen gelt. The dialects can be seen to share
168-434: Is larger than the difference between Danish and some varieties of Norwegian or between Czech and Slovak . 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 ( Latin : Boii , German : Boier ) originated as
192-533: Is now a standard language ). High German varieties are distinguished from other West Germanic varieties in that they took part in the High German consonant shift ( c. AD 500 ) to various degrees. To see this, compare the following: In the southernmost High Alemannic dialects, there is a further shift: Sack (like English/Low German "sack/Sack") is pronounced [z̥ak͡x] ( [k] to [k͡x] ). Old High German evolved from about 500 AD. Around 1200
216-745: Is preferred in the mass media . Ludwig Thoma was a noted German author who wrote works such as Lausbubengeschichten in Bavarian. There is a Bavarian Misplaced Pages . Also, the official FC Bayern Munich website was available in Bavarian. Notes: Vowel phonemes in parentheses occur only in certain Bavarian dialects or only appear as allophones or in diphthongs. Nasalization may also be distinguished in some dialects. Bavarian has an extensive vowel inventory, like most Germanic languages. Vowels can be grouped as back rounded, front unrounded and front rounded. They are also traditionally distinguished by length or tenseness . * These are typically used in
240-409: Is restricted to use as the language of writing and the media. It is therefore often referred to as Schriftdeutsch ("written German") rather than the usual term Hochdeutsch (" High German " or "Standard German"). Given that Central German and Upper German together comprise the High German languages , out of which the then new, written standard was developed and as opposed to Low German , that
264-513: Is spoken regularly. Families that do not use Bavarian at home usually use Standard German instead. In Austria, some parts of grammar and spelling are taught in Standard German lessons. As reading and writing in Bavarian is generally not taught at schools, almost all literate speakers of the language prefer to use Standard German for writing. Regional authors and literature may play a role in education as well, but by and large, Standard German
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#1732772921232288-563: Is the lingua franca . Although there exist grammars, vocabularies , and a translation of the Bible in Bavarian, there is no common orthographic standard. Poetry is written in various Bavarian dialects, and many pop songs use the language as well, especially ones belonging to the Austropop wave of the 1970s and 1980s. Although Bavarian as a spoken language is in daily use in its region, Standard German, often with strong regional influence,
312-573: The Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses in central and southern Germany , Austria , Liechtenstein , Switzerland , Luxembourg , and eastern Belgium , as well as in neighbouring portions of France ( Alsace and northern Lorraine ), Italy ( South Tyrol ), the Czech Republic ( Bohemia ), and Poland ( Upper Silesia ). They are also spoken in diasporas in Romania , Russia , Canada ,
336-589: The Central Uplands ( Mittelgebirge ) and Alpine areas of central and southern Germany; it also includes Luxembourg, Austria, Liechtenstein, and most of Switzerland. This is opposed to Low German , which is spoken in the lowlands and along the flat sea coasts of the North German Plain . High German can be subdivided into Upper German ( Oberdeutsch ) and Central or Middle German ( Mitteldeutsch , this includes Luxembourgish , which itself
360-797: The Early modern period , the Early New High German varieties, especially the East Central German of the Luther Bible , formed an important basis for the development of Standard German. Divisions between subfamilies within Germanic are rarely precisely defined, because most form continuous clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not. In particular, there has never been an original " Proto-High German ". For this and other reasons,
384-561: The Middle High German period, from about the 12th century. Three main dialects of 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
408-511: The Swabian and East Franconian varieties of Middle High German became dominant as a court and poetry language ( Minnesang ) under the rule of the House of Hohenstaufen . The term "High German" as spoken in central and southern Germany ( Upper Saxony , Franconia , Swabia , Bavaria ) and Austria was first documented in the 15th century. Gradually driving back Low German variants since
432-645: The United States , Brazil , Argentina , Mexico , Chile , and Namibia . High German is marked by the High German consonant shift , separating it from Low German (Low Saxon) and Low Franconian (including Dutch ) within the continental West Germanic dialect continuum . As a technical term, the "high" in High German is a geographical reference to the group of dialects that forms "High German" (i.e. "Highland" German), out of which developed Standard German , Yiddish and Luxembourgish . It refers to
456-540: 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. Before the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia , the linguistic border of Bavarian with Czech was on the farther side of the Bohemian Forest and its Bohemian foreland
480-440: The family name coming first (like da Stoiber Ede instead of Edmund Stoiber ). The use of the article is considered mandatory when using this linguistic variation. In addition, nicknames different from the family name exist for almost all families, especially in small villages. They consist largely of their profession, names or professions of deceased inhabitants of their homes or the site where their homes are located. This nickname
504-735: 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 Altbairisch (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
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#1732772921232528-478: 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
552-401: The very northern dialects of Bavarian. The possessive pronouns Deina and Seina inflect in the same manner. Oftentimes, -nige is added to the nominative to form the adjective form of the possessive pronoun, like mei(nige), dei(nige), and the like. Just like the possessive pronouns listed above, the indefinite pronouns koana , "none", and oana , "one" are inflected the same way. There
576-414: Was Bavarian-speaking. Alternatively, there are four main dialects: Bavarian differs sufficiently from Standard German to make it difficult for native speakers to adopt standard pronunciation. Educated Bavarians and Austrians can almost always read, write and understand Standard German, but they may have very little opportunity to speak it, especially in rural areas. In those regions, Standard German
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