What do people laugh about on the Internet? Linguistic and linguacultural analysis of humor

The aim of the work: to identify the linguistic and linguacultural features of the actualization of the comic effect using the example of German-language and Russian-language material on the Internet. The subject of the study is the linguistic and linguacultural features of humor, presented primarily on the material of memes, jokes and some other genres available on the Internet. Knowledge of the linguacultural specifics of humor helps to implement successful intercultural communication and avoid communication errors. Material, methods, methodology of the research: examples of actualization of humor on various German-language Internet sites and Internet platforms with the addition of individual examples from the Russian language were selected as the research material. Semantic analysis and the method of identifying the meaning of words in a specific context (contextual analysis) were used as the main research methods. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that, using the material of the German and Russian languages, an insufficiently studied topic of actualization of various types of humorous effect on the Internet is analyzed, primarily through memes and jokes, as well as in various humorous television shows, its linguistic and linguacultural features are revealed in various types of discourse - political, advertising, social. Conclusions: The study of humor on the Internet is of great research interest, as it helps to understand humor, to identify not only its linguistic features, but also some features of the mentality and culture of the country, which must be taken into account in intercultural communication in order to avoid stereotypes and not make communicative mistakes. Scope of application of the material: speech practice when working with students studying German, when teaching courses in lexicology and stylistics, when preparing a special course on the topic “Linguistic and linguacultural specifics of humor on the Internet.”

category of comic, humorous effect, linguacultural features, official vocabulary, meme, joke, ethnostereotype, language tools, hyperbole, metaphor