Northern Bavarian

Northern Bavarian or North Central Bavarian (German: Nordbairisch, Nordmittelbairisch) is a dialect of the Bavarian language. Though mostly spoken in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, Northern Bavarian is also spoken in Upper, Lower Bavaria and Upper Franconia. There is one subvariant called West Northern Bavarian or West Northern Central Bavarian. It is spoken in the west, up in the north of Bavaria. The dialects of the Upper Palatinate and the Bavarian Forest are also called “Waidlerische”. Linguistically, these are North Bavarian, North Central Bavarian and Central Bavarian dialects, with the North Bavarian elements gradually increasing towards the north.

Northern Bavarian
Nordbairisch
Native toGermany
RegionUpper Palatinate, Upper Franconia, Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria
Native speakers(unknown)
Language family
Writing systemLatin (German alphabet),
historically the Gothic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Map of Northern Bavarian.svg
Areas of Northern Bavarian

Spoken regions

Northern Bavarian is spoken in most of the Upper Palatinate, in the southeastern parts of Upper Franconia and Middle Franconia, in the northernmost part of Upper Bavaria and in the southernmost part of Saxony (Southern Vogtland). In the south-eastern Upper Palatinate and in the northernmost part of Lower Bavaria, mixed forms of Northern and Central Bavarian - linguistically called Northern Central Bavarian - are spoken, with the city of Regensburg being a Central Bavarian linguistic island within this area.