What Languages Are Spoken In Austria? (Answered!)

The official language of Austria is German (specifically Standard Austrian German). The most common spoken language in Austria is Austro-Bavarian, a West Germanic language closely related to German. A group of dialects from High German called Alemannic is also commonly spoken in western Austria along the Swiss border.

Austria is a central European country situated between several Western and Eastern European countries.

Consequently, the country has many different cultures and languages living inside its borders.

Only 75% to 85% of people living in Austria are actually ethnically Austrians.

Most communications use Standard Austrian German for official, media, and political purposes, resulting in most people in Austria understanding it at least as a second language.

Some older Austrians may only understand the most common dialect, Austro-Bavarian.

In This Article

What is Bavarian?

Bavarian is the lingua franca of Austria and is spoken widely by most Austrians.

Austria is home to many subdialects of Bavarian.

While all Bavarian will sound much like German to untrained ears, its subdialects each have specific nuances that make them different from the original German and each other.

Bavarian originates from the German state in the southeast of the country.

Bavaria borders both Switzerland and Austria, helping the dialect’s spread into those regions.

The Bavarian language is the largest German dialect in the world with over 14 million speakers.

Some organizations and linguists classify German Bavarian as its own language, but its somewhat similarity to other German dialects may make it difficult to distinguish. It’s commonly referred to as both a language and a dialect.

Austro-Bavarian, even further removed from Standard German than Bavarian, is generally unintelligible to most German speakers.

However, its different pronunciations and orthography give it a unique sound that most German speakers will be able to recognize individually from other Germanic languages and dialects.

Of the 9 million people living in the country, 7 million speak Austro-Bavarian.

Most of these will speak Standard German as a second language since 98% of Austrians speak that too.

The following Bavarian dialects are spoken in Austria:

Middle (Central) Bavarian. Spoken in the majority of Austria, this is the most popular dialect of Bavarian in the country (as in Bavaria).
Southern Bavarian. A smaller dialect only spoken in the south of the country on its border with Slovenia and Italy.
Low, High, and Highest Alemannic are all spoken in the extreme west of Austria by the Swiss border. The Alemannic dialect group also includes Swabian German. Only a very small proportion of the population speaks this dialect. Over 300,000 people speak Alemannic in Austria.

Many people in Austria will speak a blend of dialects.

People from the capital city, Vienna, will speak distinguishable dialects depending on the district they live in.

Geography is the most common dividing factor when it comes to dialects.

What foreign languages are spoken in Austria?

Austria legally protects minority languages within its borders, including Croatian and Hungarian in Burgenland, Slovenian in Carinthia, Slovakian, Czechian, and Roma.

In its efforts to preserve its linguistic and cultural diversity, Austria entitles ethnic groups to native language schooling and official communication with the authorities in their own language.

These are some of the foreign languages of note spoken in Austria and the percentage of speakers in the country:

English – 73%. The most common second language in the country. Austrians are taught English from as young as seven years old in the public school system.
French – 11%. While there aren’t many native French living in Austria, many Austrians speak it as it’s still a common language across much of Western and Central Europe.
Italian – 9%. Because of its close proximity to Italy and the fact that some northern regions of Italy also speak a dialect of Bavarian, one in every ten Austrians speaks Italian.
Croatian – 2.5%. Due to Austria’s close proximity to Croatia, many Croatians have immigrated to the country seeking work and brought their language with them.
Turkish – 2.3%. It’s estimated that there are around half a million natural Turks living in Austria. This is likely due to the government’s “guest worker” policy that promoted immigration for export and construction jobs that many Austrians refused to work in.
Serbian – 2.2%. Similar to Turkish, Serbian entered the country as immigrants looking for work. There are several hundreds of thousands of Serbs living in Austria now.
Slovenian – 0.3%. Most Slovenian speakers live in Carinthia, where the language is officially recognized and Slovenians enjoy special rights.
Hungarian – 0.1%. Because of the close ties between Austria and Hungary during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hungarian is still featured in the country, although there are very few speakers of the language left.

There are other languages such as Russian, Polish, Bosnian, and Romani also spoken in the country, but the exact number of speakers is not known.

How many people in Austria speak English?

Around 73%, or 6.5 million, of the Austrian population can speak and understand English, most often as a second language.

Austria places 7th out of the 63 countries on Education First’s English Proficiency Index, making it one of the best countries for a person to learn English as a second language.

Most Austrians are taught English from elementary school to university.

The country is sympathetic to globalization, and this reflects in their high level of English comprehension.

English is becoming more and more popular as the lingua franca between languages in Europe.

Can Germans understand Austrians?

Yes and no, depending on where in Germany you are from and what dialect you speak.

Because Standard Austrian German is similar to High German, most German speakers will be able to understand official documents and mainstream media.

However, only Germans from Bavaria may understand Austrian conversation, since most Austrians speak Austro-Bavarian in their daily lives.

It may actually be easier for Germans to read Austro-Bavarian than to hear it.

Austria as a country has much respect for other languages outside the mainstream Austro-Bavarian or Standard Austrian German spoken by most of the population.

Many ethnic minorities enjoy official recognition and English is commonly spoken across the inclusive country, making it easy for tourists to visit the country without having to learn any German dialect.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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