© 2022 V&R unipress | Brill Deutschland GmbH ISBN Print: 9783847114307 – ISBN E-Lib: 9783737014304 Sylwia Adamczak-Krysztofowicz (Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza, Poznan ´ )/ Krystyna Mihulka (Uniwersytet Rzeszowski, Rzeszów) Ethnomemes – zwischen Komik und Diskriminierung? Theoretische Ausführungen mit Fokus auf Humor: seine Begrifflichkeit und sein Zusammenwirken mit Ethnostereotypen Ethno Memes – Between Comedy and Discrimination? Theoretical Considerations with the Focus on Humour: The Concept and Its Interaction with Ethnic Stereotypes Abstract This introductory paper discusses the problems which can be encountered during an attempt at a systematic analysis of the current approaches and popular concepts related to the notions of comedy and humour looked at from the interdisciplinary perspective. The authors examine the origins and functions of humour (the classical Incongruity Theory and the Superiority Theory), and interpret humour as both social and culture-specific phenomenon. Furthermore, it is underlined in the paper that humorous content originated in a particular cultural context, serves as a tool within a specific ethno-discourse and determines one’s own culture through a stereotypical treatment of the foreign one. However, the most important aim of this article is the examination of the concept of humour, its types and characteristics as well as its determinants in ethnic discourse. The results of this analysis may be of use in further explorations of humorous stereotypical contents expressed, among others, by means of ethno memes. Keywords: humour, stereotype, ethnic stereotype, the Incongruity Theory, the Superiority Theory, interculturality, ethno meme Schlüsselwörter: Humor, Stereotyp, Ethnostereotyp, Überlegenheitstheorie, Inkongru- enztheorie, Interkulturalität, Ethnomeme 1. Einführung »Durch nichts bezeichnen die Menschen mehr ihren Charakter als durch das, was sie lächerlich finden« (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, »Die Wahlverwandtschaf- ten« II, 4) – mit diesem Zitat bringt der berühmte Dichter zum Ausdruck, dass eine bestimmte Person durch ihren Sinn für Humor am besten ihre Persön- lichkeitsmerkmale manifestieren kann. Überträgt man die bekannten Worte von Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0