Bavarian Language - Dialects

Dialects

Three main dialect groups in Bavarian are:

• Northern Bavarian, also spoken in the Upper Franconian district of Wunsiedel;
• Central 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 Bavarian (in 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 regions of the city.

However, the various Bavarian dialects are normally mutually intelligible, with the possible exception of some versions of Tyrolean.