Austro-Bavarian is an Upper Germanic language or dialect spoken in Southern Bavaria, the major part of Austria (outside of Vorarlberg, where an Alemannic dialect is spoken), and South Tyrol (politically a part of Italy). Like Standard German, Austro-Bavarian is a High German language, but they are not the same. However, Austro-Bavarian and Standard German have influenced each other and the vast majority of Austro-Bavarian speakers speak Standard German as well.
Austro-Bavarian is also used to refer to the dialect group which includes the Austro-Bavarian dialect discussed here, as well as the Cimbrian, Hutterite German, and Mócheno dialects of German.
There are three main dialect groups in Austro-Bavarian:
- Northern Austro-Bavarian (so-called "Upper-Palatinate dialect");
- Central Austro-Bavarian (along the main rivers Isar and Danube, including the dialects around Vienna and Munich);
- Southern Austro-Bavarian (in Tyrol, Carinthia, and South Tyrol).
