Humorous means in political Internet memes (based on the material of the German language)

Abstract

The study aims to identify the humorous means of Internet memes that reflect the socio-political moods of German residents. In the course of the study, topical political humorous German-language Internet memes were selected and an analysis of the verbal and visual means reflecting the (linguo-)creative potential of Internet users when creating a humorous effect was carried out. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that it represents the first attempt to conduct such an analysis. As a result, it has been proved that Internet users employ original visual and verbal components based on humorous means to create political memes. It has been found that the visual component, as well as puns, coinage of new words or expressions based on the names of leading politicians are the main manifestations of (linguistic) creativity. It has been noted that a political Internet meme is a socio-cultural phenomenon that reflects the socio-political sentiments of a certain society and is understandable only to those who are familiar with the socio-political realities and culture of this society.