Comments on: Do Germans have a sense of humour?

By: Andrew Eames

Andrew Eames — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 08:53:12 +0000

In reply to Peter. Very thoughtful post, thanks. The German sense of humour is far less self-conscious than the British; God forbid that we should do anything as obvious as make jokes and laugh at them! One of the reasons I suspect why Michael McIntyre gets criticised by his fellow comics is that he simply finds stuff funny and shares it with us, whereas the others are taking a position, turning themselves inside out and letting humour out by the back door. Anyway, probably the biggest truth is that 'humour that has to be explained is no longer funny'.

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 14:45:47 +0000

Everyone has a sense of humour….just ask them!
The Germans (in common with most nations) just don’t have the same one as the British. We British (in our arrogance!) like to think of ourselves as having the standard universal sense of humour whereas in truth ours is the rare one born of our unique history.
Humour is mostly about creating bonds among “us” at the expense of “them”. German humor can be coarser and more transparent than British because the difference between “us” and “them” in Germany is usually geographical (sometimes political) and the audience is invariably the “us” (little chance of offending “them” to their faces!) In this context outward displays of mirth are expected (even at ones own jokes if they are funny enough!)
In Britain it is quite different.British humor is mostly about one social class (“us”) attempting to feel superior to another(especially sneering at former fellows trying to desert ones own class and move into another). Because the different classes are geographically mixed the British humorist has to “feel out” his audience and use subtlety to find just those who are of like mind and will appreciate his efforts. That is why British humor is usually understated and delivered with a “straight face”. Why belly-laughs are replaced by amused smiles , why puns are such a particularly British feature and why a real Brit would never laugh at his own joke.British humor is often self-deprecating.”Why would they put themselves down” a German might ask.The answer is that they are not,but have enough confidence not to fear appearing to!
I know “Fawlty Towers” was popular in Germany and the US but deep down I don’t really believe that they get it. Basil Fawlty was funny in England precisely BECAUSE he had no sense of humor and was one of “them”.He represented a real ridiculous person that everyone had come across among their acquaintances.
Humour cannot easily be analysed the way some Germans might like.Humour that has to be explained is no longer funny. It is all about a sense of the ridiculous and that is buried deep in our cultural subconscious. I think possibly Germany falls a little short in the area of humour because it doesn’t have the same historical longevity of its institutions available for ridicule as its neighbour across the channel!

By: Brian Starbuck

Brian Starbuck — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:10:00 +0000

I was wondering what the status of the pun in German humour is. My wife, who speaks german fairly fluently, made a joke to a German friend about an awful cafe experience (a very rare event) as an ‘Eiscafe – more like scheisscafe’ pun (even I got it). After a long pause – gales of laughter and the friend repeated the pun to other Germans in our presence – every time there was a long pause followed by extreme mirth. Did they just not get it? Was it too rude and they were laughing out of embarressment at our awful English ways? Are puns just not a valued and easily recognised form of humour in Germany? We ceratinly haven’t found a general lack of humour on our visits there. The part of the former east Germany near Dresden where we go on holiday certainly has lots of people who like a good laugh, and my comments at a village football match that they were very good and perhaps would like to play for England and that we could do with the help, was well received.