The ''Jodeldiplom'' ("

yodeling Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from the ...

diploma") is a fictitious degree created for a sketch by German humorist

Loriot Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow (12 November 1923 – 22 August 2011), known as Vicco von Bülow or Loriot (), was a German comedian, humorist, cartoonist, film director, actor and writer. He was best known for his cartoons, the s ...

. The sketch pokes fun at the numerous degrees awarded by universities and

folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...

s, which grant their recipients social status without providing any meaningful qualifications for the labor market. The term has since gained currency in German to refer to superfluous, useless, vanity-driven, or purchased academic qualifications (such as from a

diploma mill A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fa ...

), similar to the English terms

underwater basket weaving Underwater basket weaving is an idiom referring pejoratively to supposedly useless or absurd college or university courses and often generally to refer to a perceived decline in educational standards. The term also serves as an intentionally hum ...

Mickey Mouse degree Mickey Mouse degrees (or Mickey Mouse courses, also known as bird courses in Canada) is a term for university degree courses regarded as worthless or irrelevant. The term is a dysphemism, originating in the common usage of "Mickey Mouse" as a ...

Loriot sketch

The sketch "Yodeling School" was produced by

Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (RB), Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerhaven). With its headquarters sited in Bremen, Radio Brem ...

as part of the episode ''Loriot VI'' and first broadcast on

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...

on 7 December 1978. The sketch takes place in the ''Institute for Modern Yodeling'', where the adult students are practicing yodeling texts (for example: "Holleri du dödl di, diri diri dudl dö"). The yodeling instructor, Dr. Vogler is meticulously dictating the correct pronunciation to his students, who repeat his dictation in unison. In response to an incorrect answer ("Dö dudl dö") by Mrs. Hoppenstedt (

Evelyn Hamann Eveline Braun, (née Hamann; 6 August 1942 – 28 October 2007) commonly known as Evelyn Hamann, was a German actress best known for her work with popular German comedian Loriot as well as for her appearances in television series such as ''The ...

), Dr. Vogler corrects her and says that "Dö dudl dö is

future perfect The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before a time of reference in the future, such as ''will have finished'' in the English sentence "I will have finished by tomorrow." ...

tense used at sunrise." Mrs. Hoppenstedt is interviewed after the course by a reporter Viktor Schmoller (Loriot) for the "Women's Journal of Radio Bremen". In the interview, Mrs. Hoppenstedt explains her participation in the course that as a housewife and mother, when the children are out of the house, she wants to have the feeling that she is standing on her own feet, and wants to have "something of her own", a "''Jodeldiplom''."

Jodlar-Prob

A serious "yodeling diploma", the so-called "Jodlar-Prob" exists in the

Allgäu Alps The Allgäu Alps (german: Allgäuer Alpen) are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany and Tyrol and Vorarlberg in Austria. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance. Character ...

. In 1934, the ''Wertacher Jodlergruppe'' was founded as one of the first yodeling groups in the

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

. Every year in

Wertach Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, (Germany), in the German Alps. It is situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald. History Wertach was ...

, the "Wertacher Jodlar-Prob" takes place to preserve and continue the tradition. The shared knowledge of yodeling is offered in a seminar.

Yodeling degree

The

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (german: Hochschule Luzern) (HSLU) is one of seven regional, public-funded universities of applied sciences founded in 1997 in its current form. The University was called University of Applied Scien ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

announced Yodeling as a course of study beginning in the winter semester 2018. At the end of the course of study, the students will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts in music.

References

{{Reflist Criticism of academia Pejorative terms Comedy sketches Pages translated from German Wikipedia Ethically disputed educational practices