Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also encompasses customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
A lightbulb joke is a joke cycle that asks how many people of a certain group are needed to change, replace, or screw in a light bulb. Generally, the punch line answer highlights a stereotype of the target group. There are numerous versions of the lightbulb joke satirizing a wide range of cultures, beliefs, and occupations.
A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, and ends in a punch line, whereby the humorous element of the story is revealed; this can be done using a pun or other type of word play, irony or sarcasm, logical incompatibility, hyperbole, or other means. Linguist Robert Hetzron offers the definition:
A joke is a short humorous piece of oral literature in which the funniness culminates in the final sentence, called the punchline… In fact, the main condition is that the tension should reach its highest level at the very end. No continuation relieving the tension should be added. As for its being "oral," it is true that jokes may appear printed, but when further transferred, there is no obligation to reproduce the text verbatim, as in the case of poetry.
A proverb or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial expression is a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context. Collectively, they form a genre of folklore.
An ethnic stereotype or racial stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype does the same for a given nationality. The stereotyping may be used for humor in jokes, and/or may be associated with racism.
An insult is an expression, statement, or behavior that is often deliberately disrespectful, offensive, scornful, or derogatory towards an individual or a group. Insults can be intentional or unintentional, and they often aim to belittle, offend, or humiliate the target. While intentional insults can sometimes include factual information, they are typically presented in a pejorative manner, intended to provoke a negative emotional response or have a harmful reaction effect when used harmfully. Insults can also be made unintentionally or in a playful way but could in some cases also have negative impacts and effects even when they were not intended to insult.
Blonde jokes are a joke cycle based on a stereotype of a dumb blonde woman.
A football chant or terrace chant is a form of vocalisation performed by supporters of association football, typically during football matches. Football chanting is an expression of collective identity, most often used by fans to express their pride in the team they support, or to encourage them, and to celebrate a particular player or manager. Fans may also use football chants to slight the opposition, and many fans sing songs about their club rivals, even when they are not playing them. Sometimes the chants are spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch.
Flyting or fliting, is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse.
Folklore studies is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the academic study of traditional culture from the folklore artifacts themselves. It became established as a field across both Europe and North America, coordinating with Volkskunde (German), folkeminner (Norwegian), and folkminnen (Swedish), among others.
A "yo mama" joke is a form of humor involving a verbal disparaging of one's mother. Used as an insult, "your mother..." preys on widespread sentiments of parental respect. Suggestions of promiscuity and obesity are common, but the form's limit is human ingenuity. Compared to other types of insults, "your mother" insults are especially likely to incite violence. Slang variants such as "ur mum" are sometimes used, depending on speaker. Insults involving "your mother" are commonly used when playing the Dozens. In non-American areas, the association can be with juvenile culture generally.
The culture of Yorkshire has developed over the county's history, influenced by the cultures of those who came to control/settle in the region, including the Celts {, Romans, Angles, Vikings, Normans and British Afro-Caribbean { peoples, from the 1950s onwards. Yorkshire people are said to have a strong sense of regional identity, and are sometimes thought to identify more strongly with their own county than the nation, as a whole. Despite the decline of many traditional and distinctive features of the Yorkshire dialect, its accent is widely perceived by fellow British English speakers as trustworthy and friendly.
Sardarji jokes or Sardar jokes are a class of religious jokes based on stereotypes of Sikhs. Although jokes about other religious, ethnic, and linguistic communities are found in various regions of India, Sardarji jokes are the most widely circulated religious jokes and are found across the country. Sardarji jokes are generally considered tasteless and inappropriate by members of the Sikh community, and have elicited protests as well as leading to arrests for hurting religious sentiments.
A Polish joke is an English-language ethnic joke deriding Polish people, based on derogatory stereotypes. The Polish joke belongs in the category of conditional jokes, whose full understanding requires the audience to have prior knowledge of what a Polish joke is. As with all discriminatory jokes, Polish jokes depend on the listener's preconceived notions and antipathies.
The fool is a stock character in creative works and folklore. There are several distinct, although overlapping, categories of fool: simpleton fool, wise fool, and serendipitous fool.
Hori is an ethnic slur used against people of Māori descent. The term comes from a Māori-language approximation of George, an English name that was very popular during the early years of European colonisation of New Zealand. By means of synecdoche, the term came to be ascribed firstly to any unknown male Māori and then as a negative epithet to all male Māori.
Sheep-shagger is a derogatory term, most often used to refer to Welsh people, implying that the subject has sex with sheep. In a court case in Britain, the use of the term directed at a Welsh person was ruled to be a "racially aggravating" factor in a disorderly conduct offence. It has been used in South Africa to refer to Australians and by Australians and New Zealanders to refer to one another.
Yoruba demon is a slang for a young man, typically of Yoruba descent who is often a smooth talker or a playboy. The words "Yoruba Demon" started as a joke on social media circa 2015 as a way to describe a stereotypical ability of Yoruba men to charm their way into a woman's heart but has also been used as an ethnic slur or insult and has been typically used in internet memes. Characteristics of Yoruba demons include a particular choice of dress, typically traditional outfits from Southwestern Nigeria e.g. the Agbada and fila, having a properly groomed beard, multiple romantic and sexual partners, party-going, being sociable and articulate.
A town of fools is the base of a number of joke cycles found in various cultures. Jokes of these cycles poke fun at the stupidity of the inhabitants of a real or fictional populated place. In English folklore the best known butt of jokes of this type are the Wise Men of Gotham. A number of works of satire are set in a town of fools.
