A heteronomous language variety is a nonstandard language variety whose speakers normally use another, autonomous language

Autonomous language

An autonomous language or variety is usually a standard language that has its own established norms, as opposed to a heteronomous variety.An autonomous language will usually have grammar books, dictionaries and literature written in it...

 variety in writing (especially formal writing) and education. In such cases, the heteronomous variety is said to be oriented towards the autonomous one. For example, the various regional varieties (dialect

Dialect

The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...

s) of German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, such as Alemannic

Alemannic German

Alemannic is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy...

, Austro-Bavarian

Austro-Bavarian

Bavarian , also Austro-Bavarian, is a major group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south east of the German language area.-History and origin:...

, Central Hessian, East Hessian, North Hessian, Kölsch and Low German

Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...

, are heteronomous with respect to Standard German.