After living in Berlin for eight years, I finally started consuming German mass media through my work. A few months ago, I found a job as a captioner; I mostly watch German films and write English subtitles. While I enjoy my job because I can sit, watch TV, and write all day, I can’t help but notice a trend in all of the German content I watch; it seriously lacks the comic relief that I can relate to as an American. However, he’s as spiritual in his unique way as I, as an English speaker, can’t quite get it.
There is this extremely common stereotype: “The Germans cannot take a joke; The Germans have no humor ”blah blah blah. But that doesn’t quite match the Germans I know and love, many of whom are absolutely hilarious.
I decided to discover some of the intricacies of German humor through a few conversations and a deep dive into the internet. Here is what I found:
Where does the irony end?
One of my closest friends in Berlin has been completely bilingual since birth; half German, half American. His definition of German humor is “unresolved irony.” In succinct terms: “alles is sheiße” (Everything is crap,) –but you can’t tell if someone is joking. The blurry lines between sincerity and satire make the German language hilarious. Here’s a great example of a recent Deutsche Bahn ad that straddles the border of madness and comedy:
Brilliant announcement from Deutsche Bahn: “Notice to all conspiracy theorists: be aware that the German government is secretly collecting specimens of saliva to produce clones which will then replace you. So please wear a mask to prevent the government from obtaining your DNA. . ” https://t.co/8y5zFMHeBS
– Guy Chazan (@GuyChazan) November 19, 2020
Timing is everything
Unlike my own people who can never be silent, the Germans know how to use silence to their advantage. Sometimes a long, tense pause is enough to provoke an attack of laughter. The order in which you reveal the information is absolutely vital, here is a relevant example (you can activate the English submarines):
Make the most of a shitty situation
Schadenfreude is one of those words that has transcended the German language and found its way into a number of different cultures. While schadenfreude-based German humor may be horribly reminiscent of past national horrors and downright offensive, when directed at less sensitive topics, this humor tactic can actually be, well, humorous. It can sometimes be relieving to joke about our current woes, hence the expression “comic relief”. Instagram‘s popular meme Elhotzo captures this perfectly. Take this article for example:
This translates into: the statement “a small party never killed anyone” has turned into a bitter lie this year.
So many words to choose from
Take a look at the ads around Berlin and you’ll immediately see a ton of great word games. My personal favorites are from the LPP.
They released this little gem about the US elections:
Roughly translated: As a public company, we are not permitted to disclose who we would support. So, let’s just say this: We wish them both good luck.
The word play here is the German word for both – beiden, pronounced Bi-den. Thus, the LPP may not be “authorized” to support one candidate or another, but their preference is still very clear.
This phenomenon is not limited to advertising. One of my closest friends and funniest person I know says his favorite German jokes are flachwitze, or flat jokes but probably better known as puns. His favorite:
Translated: What do cars like to eat? Parking spaces. But Plätzchen in German are both cookies and spots, and therefore parking spaces. The joke falls a bit … flat but that’s the point of a flat joke, right?
Downright clowning
So much German humor is absurd to the point that it is almost stupid. The Germans and I, an honorary German, love it. Here are two examples:
Translated: At lunch, I suddenly can’t taste anything. Nothing. Taste = 0. As my mouth is dead. I start to panic. Definitely Covid! Then I realize that I am in the clear. Stupid tofu.
Or this one:
Translated:
Pharmacist: Always take your tablets with meals.
Me: So six times a day?
Pharmacist: What?
What me?
It took me maybe eight years and a lot of horrible TV to figure out that German is actually a very funny language. But making broad statements about a culture such as “Germans are not funny” or, in my case, “Americans are all fat and stupid”, can be more damaging than originally thought. In order to be successful in practicing intercultural communication, it is essential to break these stereotypes and make some really bad jokes every now and then.
Diesen Artikel auf deutsch lesen.
through Adri
November 24, 2020
in the stories