Brilliance and commitment – Norbert Lammert receives the award for his outstanding contribution to the German language

This year’s awards went to Norbert Lammert, the project “Klasse! Wir singen” of the Singen e. V. nonprofit as well as the show “Sozusagen!”, aired by Bayerischer Rundfunk. As the first politician in the series of award recipients, Norbert Lammer – the former presiding officer of the German parliament – received the Jacob Grimm Award for the German Language and reiterated his commitment to codifying the German language in the country’s constitution.  He stated that the sentence “our national language is German” would have done away the need for with numerous ideological debates over the past years. The project “Klasse! Wir singen”, said Walter Kraemer in his speech, had done great things for the emotional health of children and the social cohesion of our country.  Daniel Keding, the project’s executive director, stated: “We want to make sure that the younger generation does not forget its songs and are working to further sustainability in singing.“ The show “Sozusagen!” at the Bayerischer Rundfunk was awarded the Institutionenpreis Deutsche Sprache – a German language prize awarded to institutions. Acting on behalf of the editorial team, host Knut Cordsen stepped forward to receive the symbol of the award, a glass block. He said: “Sozusagen!” is not a show for cultural pessimists. Instead, it serves to create awareness for what is wonderful about the language. Jury member Anke Sauter praised the show in her speech: “The show is as multi-faceted as the German language itself.” Over 800 guests attended the award show at the ballroom of the Kongress Palais Kassel. http://www.kulturpreis-deutsche-sprache.de