Languages of Austria Austro-Bavarian grammar differs from Standard German. A number of minority languages are spoken in Austria, some of which have official status. Turkish is the largest minority language, in a situation mirroring that of Germany, spoken by 2.3% of the population. Serbian is the second largest minority language, with usage by 2.2% of the population. Burgenland Croatian, an official language in Burgenland, is spoken by 2.5% of Austrians, and Burgenland Croats are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty ("Staatsvertrag") of 1955. While little spoken today, Hungarian has traditionally held an important position in
States of Austria states of Upper Austria and Lower Austria are essentially equivalent to what were since 1783/84 the two autonomous halves of the Archduchy of Austria, a principality which formed the empire's historic heartland. Salzburg is coterminous with the former Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Salzburg (the former Archbishopric). Similarly, the state of Carinthia descends from the Duchy of Carinthia, the state of Styria descends from the Duchy of Styria, and the state of Tyrol descends from the Princely County of Tyrol; these states had to cede territories to Italy and Yugoslavia when Austria emerged in its present form. Also, the state of Vorarlberg