German humour

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

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]

Loriot, an icon of refined German humour († 2011)

The German language's finesse offers a sort of unintentional humour through ambiguity: The sentence above is intended to mean: This area is under video surveillance by the police to prevent crimes but can also be understood as This area is under video surveillance to prevent crimes committed by the police.

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 in magazines

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]

Third Reich and Neo Nazi references

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.

A carnival float during the Rosenmontagzug in Cologne (Cologne Carnival) in 2006: a driver gets "milked" (i.e., fleeced) by the former finance minister Peer Steinbrück.

Foreign perception

From a series of woodcuts (1545) usually referred to as the Papstspotbilder or Papstspottbilder in German or Depictions of the Papacy in English,^[5] by Lucas Cranach, commissioned by Martin Luther.^[6] Title: Kissing the Pope's Feet.^[7] German peasants respond to a papal bull of Pope Paul III. Caption reads: "Don't frighten us Pope, with your ban, and don't be such a furious man. Otherwise we shall turn around and show you our rears."^[8]^[9]

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]

References

^ BBC SPORT | World Cup 2006 Blog | German comedy ha ha?
^ "Improbable research / England, birthplace of the sick joke", by Marc Abrahams, The Guardian, June 22, 2009
^ "BBC NEWS | In Depth | 2006 World Cup decision | Legal threat over World Cup prank". news.bbc.co.uk.
^ 15. November 2007, STREIT UM SCHMIDT & POCHER Rettet das Nazometer! Henryk M. Broder, in Der Spiegel ("Conflict about Schmidt & Pocher: Save the Nazometer").
^ Oberman, Heiko Augustinus (1 January 1994). The Impact of the Reformation: Essays. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-0732-8 – via Google Books.
^ Luther's Last Battles: Politics And Polemics 1531-46 By Mark U. Edwards, Jr. Fortress Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8006-3735-4
^ In Latin, the title reads "Hic oscula pedibus papae figuntur"
^ "Nicht Bapst: nicht schreck uns mit deim ban, Und sey nicht so zorniger man. Wir thun sonst ein gegen wehre, Und zeigen dirs Bel vedere"
^ Edwards, Mark U. Jr. (November 19, 2004). Luther's Last Battles: Politics and Polemics 1531–46. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-4514-1398-4 – via Google Books.
^ Lee, Stewart (May 22, 2006). "Lost in translation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 30, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
^ Liberman, Mark (May 24, 2006). "Thriving on confusion in the Guardian". Language Log. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2021.