Austrian German (or Österreichisches Deutsch, pronounced [‘ju:stɑ’rɑɪhiʃes ‘dɔɪtʃ) is a variation of the German language written and spoken in Austria as well as used in the media and all formal situations. Austrian German has its beginning when empress Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II introduced compulsory schooling in 1774 and several reforms of administration in their multilingual Empire. For many years, Austria had a special form of the language, probably derived from medieval deeds and documents, which has a very complicated structure and vocabulary and is generally reserved only for official papers. Writing system: Latin (German alphabet) Official language in: Austria, Italy (South Tyrol)