In what region of Austria the spoken language is least similar to the spoken language of the rest of the country?

Vorarlberg is the westernmost federal state (Bundesland) of Austria. Although it has the second-smallest area (Vienna is the smallest) and population (Burgenland is less populated), it has the second-highest population density (after Vienna). It borders three countries: Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg via Lake Constance), Switzerland (Graubünden and St. Gallen) and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol to the east.

Vorarlberg is also distinct in that it is the only state in Austria where the local dialect is not Austro-Bavarian, but rather an Alemannic dialect; it therefore has much more in common culturally with its Alemannic-speaking neighbours Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Swabia than with Bavaria and the rest of Austria.

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40 Comments

Cari G.

Ed Taber, what on earth is wrong with you? This is not the forum for your racist comments. Frankly, there is no forum for your slurs. Please keep your opinions to yourself.

Bernd Rittersporn

Sud Tyrol is in Italy, not Austria. There are without a doubt many people in Austria who can speak Italian however. The question goes to the commonly spoken language in Austria. This is German. Most Austrians speak a form of German that is most similar to Bavarian, but the inhabitants of Vorarlberg speak a form of Allemanish that is most similar to the German spoken in Switzerland.