Eberhard Wagner (born January 4, 1938, in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg an ...

) is a German regional dialect researcher, poet, playwright, and actor who focuses on local dialects. He is well-known for writing and publishing in the dialect of

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a '' Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle ...

(

East Franconian German East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...

Life and education

Wagner is the son of a publishing manager who owned books by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

and worked for the Brockhaus publishing company. This early exposure sparked Eberhard's interest in language from a young age. After the family fled from Weimar to Gottsfeld in Upper Franconia due to the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Eberhard Wagner attended the local

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

there. In 1958, he graduated from the German Gymnasium in Bayreuth. After that, he studied German language and literature, history, and dialectology at the universities of Cologne and Erlangen-Nuremberg. He completed his doctoral studies in 1964 (

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

) with a dissertation on the dialects of the southern Bayreuth region (die Dialekte des südlichen Bayreuther Raumes). Eberhard Wagner lives in Bayreuth.

Career

In 1967, the trained dialect researcher began his career at the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowled ...

, initially in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhabi ...

as an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

. From 1993 until his retirement in 2003, he served as the head of the East Franconian Dictionary Project in Bayreuth. During his 36 years of involvement in this project, he was known for designing questionnaires and actively engaging with the public, which enabled the publication of the Bavarian-Franconian Hand Dictionary in 2005 (Ostfränkisches Wörterbuch). Wagner continued to contribute to this work even after retiring. Alongside his academic work, Wagner also pursued dialect poetry and wrote plays for the Studiobühne Bayreuth, which he co-founded. For over 20 years, he hosted the radio show "Die Mundartshow" on Radio Mainwelle and created radio plays for

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadca ...

. In 1986, Wagner appeared as an actor in the film "Der Flieger" and also performed as a cabaret artist in Franconian theaters and cultural centers. His repertoire included humorous texts and poems in Franconian dialect.

Awards

In 2008, Eberhard Wagner was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his contributions to the research and preservation of the Franconian dialect. In 2010, the city of Bayreuth honored the dialect poet, language researcher, and actor with the Cultural Award. In 2016, he received the "Frankenwürfel," an award given to individuals who have made significant contributions to Franconian culture.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Eberhard 1938 births Living people People from Bayreuth 21st-century German poets German cabaret performers Germanists University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni Linguists of Germanic languages Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Dialectologists Male actors from Bavaria