The awarding of an honorary doctorate by the University of Education Weingarten to Wilhelm König is a sign of recognition and appreciation for his scholarly contributions to the recording, documentation, and study of dialects, said University of Education Weingarten Rector Professor Dr. Karin Schweizer. The honor is also an opportunity to express gratitude to König. With the Wilhelm König Dialect Archive, housed in the university library since 2024, the university is able to incorporate the collection into academic and research work and develop scientifically sound approaches to the study of dialects. ”It is a great pleasure and honor for me to present this distinguished award to Wilhelm König,” the Rector said.
“For all those who view language not merely as a means of communication, but as an expression of home, identity, and culture, today is a special day,” said Dr. Oliver Knörr, Head of the Cultural and Social Infrastructure Division at the Tübingen Regional Council, who delivered a welcoming address on behalf of Regional President Klaus Tappeser. Wilhelm König has been honored on multiple occasions in the past for his decades-long commitment to the Swabian dialect, including the Federal Cross of Merit and the Baden-Württemberg Homeland Medal. “This year, you received the Staufer Medal of the State of Baden-Württemberg in gold, one of the highest honors the state has to bestow,” Knörr continued. This medal honors not only deeds but also the commitment to consistently championing what often goes unnoticed — the regional, the distinctive, the unique. District Presidents Hubert Wicker and Klaus Tappeser had gone to great lengths to support König in establishing his archive in Bad Schussenried and later in its relocation to the University of Education Weingarten. The Wilhelm König Dialect Archive is far more than a collection of audio recordings, texts, and documents. “It is a repository of our linguistic diversity, a place of preservation, but also of encounter,” said Knörr. Through his tireless commitment to the Swabian dialect, König has shown generations of people that dialect is not provincial, but rather a source of identity and an expression of deep cultural roots. König possesses the ability to build bridges between young and old, between tradition and modernity.
“Through your work, you have not only created literature — you have made history,” said Dr. Raimund Schur, vice-chairman of the Württemberg Dialect Society, paying tribute to Wilhelm König. König founded the Mundartgesellschaft Württemberg in 1978 and is now its honorary chairman. He has authored numerous books and poetry collections, organized the “Reutlinger Mundartwochen,” and served on the editorial board of the magazine “schwädds” for many years. “Through your work, you have created something lasting for many generations,” Schur said in gratitude.
“I admire people like Wilhelm König, who have not only preserved their dialect but have also placed it at the center of their work,” said Professor Dr. Ute Massler, Dean of Faculty II at the University of Education Weingarten, in her laudatory speech. “When we confer this honorary doctorate today, we are not only honoring an academic and artistic achievement—we are honoring a life’s work that connects people, preserves memories, and fosters identity.” Dr. Massler recalled König’s life journey, which was not always easy: he began an apprenticeship as a carpenter but lost his left hand in an accident after passing his journeyman’s examination. Just one year later, he began writing. In the 1970s, he became a central figure in the Swabian dialect movement. Over decades, König collected everything related to dialect culture: books, calendars, magazines, anthologies, records and cassettes, postcards, and even a “Baden Struwwelpeter” and a Swabian Asterix volume.
“With your collection of more than 8,000 items, you have created a living memory of our region,” said the dean. Since 2019, the PH has been engaged in the scholarly study of dialects at the Center for Dialectology. “Your donation of the archive has provided a strong foundation for this commitment.”
“I am proud of the name ‘Wilhelm König Dialect Archive,’” König concluded, expressing his gratitude for the honorary doctorate from the PH, which was bestowed with such high esteem. “See you soon,” the honoree said as he took his leave.
The multilingual reading theater “Hansel and Gretel Remastered” generated great enthusiasm during the event, featuring narrators Jacqueline Quint (Saxon), Marianne Traunecker (Swabian), Michael Steinmetz as Hansel speaking in Berlin dialect, Gretel communicating in Alemannic, and Karin Schweizer as the witch commanding respect in Kurpfälzisch, demonstrated that dialect is anything but outdated.
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Author: Barbara Müller