Anti-establishment language humour and creativity in the Czech-speaking lands, 1938 to 1989

Abstract

This article addresses a phenomenon that has been downplayed (especially in publications aimed at non-Czech speakers) — anti-establishment language humour and creativity in the Czech-speaking lands from 1938 to 1989. The study begins with a discussion of the motivation behind the humour and wordplay, with particular reference to their linguistic and comedic functions. This is followed by an examination of the principal themes and targets of the humour, or its message(s). A distinction is drawn here between anti-German humour, which sought to defend Czech identity, and humour critical of Communism, which was aimed mainly at political reform. In the final and longest section, the focus switches to the medium of the humour, which is analysed in detail under two defining headings: metalinguistic playfulness, and intertextual and encoded referents. In conclusion, the article stresses, inter alia, the symbolic importance of the anti-regime humour as a means of subversion, and the pleasure and solace that people took from it, both as a form of escapism and as an aesthetic experience.