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.





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".

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.

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). The device allegedly will give alarms even for minor Nazi-specific formulations and politically incorrect wording.



Foreign perception
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, 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.