Language and Dress
Bavaria is divided up into three linguistic regions. The Bavarian
dialect is only spoken in the Old Bavarian regions, i.e. the
administrative regions of Upper Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate;
the administrative region of Swabia belongs to the
Swabian-Alemannian linguistic region; and the Eastern Franconian
dialect is spoken in Central, Upper and Lower Franconia. A total of
60 or more dialect regions can be distinguished, whereby the
official language is High German. For several years now, linguistic
and dialect usage in Bavaria has been scientifically studied, and
published in the multi-volume "Bavarian Language Atlas". Johann
Andreas Schmeller (1785-1852) was exemplary here; he was the first
person to record such things systematically, and he even compiled a
four-volume "Bavarian Dictionary" between 1827 and 1837.
The most famous Bavarian folk dress today is the Upper Bavarian
mountain style, with Lederhosen for the men and the coloured apron
or black Dirndl for the women. Numerous similar forms have also
survived to the present day, all enabling a traditional and clear
distinction according to region, religion, social rank, marital
status and also the respective occasion for wearing the clothes. The
Trachtenvereine, or "folkwear associations", have conserved and
cherished Bavarian folkwear traditions since the early 20th century.
An interesting fact is that blue jeans, one of the most common items
of clothing today, were designed by a Bavarian from Buttenheim in
Franconia. Levi Strauss emigrated to the US in 1847 and, together
with his two brothers, founded the firm of Levi Strauss & Co. in New
York and San Francisco.