Uncover Austrian and German Language Similarities & Variations

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Are Austrian and German languages the identical factor? At their core, sure, they’re each the German language. The alpine nation of Österreich (Austria) is thought for its stunning landscapes, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s music, and its personal distinct number of the German language.  

There’s rather a lot that differentiates Österreichisch (Austrian) from the German spoken in Germany. Whether or not you’re studying German and planning a visit to Austria or simply curious, we’ve compiled some widespread questions and Austrian phrases that will help you converse like an area. 

Is Austrian a language?

Austrian is quite a lot of the German language, that means that it isn’t its personal language—nevertheless it isn’t only a regional dialect both. That is much like how US English is quite a lot of the English language. There are some notable variations in each vocabulary and grammar between Austrian and normal German, however the Austrian and German languages are nonetheless the identical language. 

The Austrian German language isn’t a single dialect both. Specifics can differ between totally different areas of Austria, however there are some traits all of them have in widespread. 

How many individuals converse Austrian German? 

Austria’s inhabitants is about 9.1 million individuals, and the nation’s solely official language is German. There are some areas in Austria the place languages comparable to Hungarian, Slovakian, or Croatian are spoken, and these languages are acknowledged minority languages in Austria. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants speaks Austrian German as their first language. 

Important variations between Austrian and Normal German languages

Whereas there isn’t one singular Austrian German dialect, there are some things that characterize Austrian German. 

Austrian and German language pronunciations are totally different

Most notable are in all probability the variations in pronunciation, as they are often fairly drastic. You’ll discover that one of many most important variations between the Austrian and German languages is that the previous is a bit softer. 

The cruel German “ch” typically will get changed by different sounds or eliminated utterly, consonants get toned all the way down to M’s and A’s, and the frequent use of “oa” and “ia” creates the attribute Austrian German sound. 

• The German pronounIch will get shortened to a easy I (ee) in Austrian.
  • Ich bin. => I bin. (I’m.)
    
• German A’s typically get changed by O’s or “oa” in Austrian.
  • Ich habe. => I hob. (I’ve.)
  • Was? => Woas? (What?)
• Phrases ending on “-r” in normal German finish on an “-h” or “-a” in Austrian.
  • Bier => Biah (beer) 
  • Wir => Wia (we)
• If a phrase begins with “ge-,” in Normal German, it will get shortened to “g-” in Austrian.
  • Geschmack => Gschmack (style)
  • Geschichte => Gschichte (story)
• German Ü’s generally get changed by “ia.”
  • Grüß dich! => Griaß di! (“Greet you,” a typical greeting)
  • Gemütlich => Gmiatlich (cozy)
• The phrase ending “-erl” is a quite common diminutive in Austrian German. In normal German the diminutives are “-chen” and “-lein.”
  • Ein bisschen. => A bisserl. (A bit bit.)
  • Kätzchen => Katzerl (kitten/little cat)
• If a phrase ends in “-ben” (which is widespread when conjugating verbs in German) it’s changed by “-m” in Austrian.
  • Wir haben. = Wia hom. (We have now.)
  • Sie geben. = Se gem. (They offer.) 

How typically you’ll encounter these variations within the written language will depend on the place you might be in Austria and the context of the textual content. Menus in eating places frequented by German vacationers could also be written with these in thoughts, however in Austrian circles on social media, you’ll typically see the dialect written out. 

Austrian greetings are totally different from Normal German

As you study widespread German phrases, saying “Good day” is among the first to deal with. To greet one other particular person in Austria, you may say Servus (“Good day”), a greeting that’s additionally used within the German state of Bavaria. Different widespread greetings are Griaß di (“Greet you,” Grüß dich is the Normal German greeting) to greet a singular particular person and Griaß eich (“Greet you,” Grüß euch in Normal German) for a number of individuals. 

The verb haben (to have) is conjugated in another way in Austrian

instance to point out the most typical variations between German and Austrian is the verb “to have.” This desk exhibits the totally different pronouns and German verb conjugations for haben (to have) in each normal German and Austrian German.

The pronoun “we” has two totally different varieties: It could actually both be Wia or Mia in Austrian German. 

Primary Austrian German phrases to study

Austriazismen (Austriazisms) is the time period for phrases which might be distinctive to the Austrian German language.