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German humour
Humour considered typical for Germany From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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German humour is the conventions of comedy and its cultural meaning within the country of Germany. German humour encompasses traditions such as Kabarett and other forms of satire as well as more recent trends such as TV shows and stand-up comedy.
Culture
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German humour often follows many conventions which, due to similarities in cultural perception of events and day-to-day life (and other such universal themes which may be discussed through comedy), may be readily interpreted by natives of other countries.[1]
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Common joke themes and forms
Scatological humour
Alan Dundes in his book Life Is Like a Chicken Coop Ladder: A Portrait of German Culture Through Folklore suggests that the prominence of scatological humour in German culture stems from the "Teutonic parents' overemphasis on cleanliness".[2]
Political satire
Titanic's practical jokes have drawn some international attention: In 2000, a Titanic prank led to the award of the FIFA World Cup 2006 to Germany.[3]
Another example of German political satire getting international recognition was the 2016 Böhmermann affair, when German satirist Jan Böhmermann caused a political affair and diplomatic dispute between Germany and Turkey after reading an experimental poem that insulted Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his show Neo Magazin Royale. This followed a music video titled "Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdoğan" in another German satire show, Extra 3, which also was heavily criticized in Turkey and prompted Ankara to summon the German ambassador.
Third Reich and Neo Nazi references
Despite Germany being blamed for the Holocaust and World War II, jokes about Nazism and the Third Reich, and Adolf Hitler in particular, are nowadays a common theme in German humor and satire. Harald Schmidt, referring to and criticizing the importance of political correctness in Germany, suggested a Nazometer, a mock measurement device (and causing a minor scandal).[4] The device allegedly will give alarms even for minor Nazi-specific formulations and politically incorrect wording. Other recent examples include the Adolf comics by Walter Moers, which satirically spoof Hitler, and the 2006 comedy film My Führer – The Really Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler, in which Hitler is played by Helge Schneider.
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Foreign perception
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Germans being stiff and humorless and German humor being dull and dry has become a popular German stereotype. There are many pop cultural references to the perceived lack of humor in Germany, a notable example being the South Park episode Funnybot.
In a popular but criticised article in 2006, English comedian Stewart Lee put forward the theory that misconceptions about German humour among English speakers might derive from differences between the English and German languages. In German, new ideas are often named by creating compounds, sometimes resulting in long, quite specific words. Some English-language jokes, according to Lee, do not translate well because German grammar is different from that of English and there is not always a direct translation for a delayed punchline, one of the most common joke formats for English speakers,[10] and such language-based humour.
There has been harsh criticism of Lee's views, especially from academics. Linguist Mark Liberman states that in trying to eliminate stereotypes about German humour, Lee himself falls victim to "ethnic prejudice and [...] incoherent linguistic analyses" by basing his "opinions on unsupported and unexamined national stereotypes". Liberman also finds many possibilities for a "pull back and reveal" joke structure in German language.[11]
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See also
References
Further reading
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