Abstract As a kind of social speech acts to maintain and improve human relationships, the compliments have been widely accepted. The application of compliments can make the communication move forward in a harmony atmosphere, shorten the social distance between different communicators and then improve the normal human relationships, so as to achieve the high quality of communication. However, compared with the researches of compliments at abroad, the domestic studies start relatively late and most of them are the introduction to the research results of English compliments. There are few systematic researches of Chinese compliments. Therefore, on the basis of previous researches, this paper will make a comparative study on the similarities and differences of the compliments as well as their responses between English and Chinese from the cross-cultural perspective. Besides, it will explore the reasons that hidden behind the differences, so as to promote the cross-cultural communication.55809

Key Words: China; western; cultural differences; the compliments and their responds; comparative study

摘要作为一种维护和改善人际关系的社会言语行为，恭维语已被广泛接受。恭维语的运用能使交流在和谐融洽的气氛中向前推进，缩短交际者之间的社会距离，继而维系并改善交际正常的人际关系，达到有效沟通的效果。然而，与国外对于恭维语的研究比较，国内对恭维语的研究起步较晚，且多是对英语恭维语研究成果的介绍，有关汉语恭维语的系统研究相对较少。为此，在前人研究的基础上，本文将从跨文化的角度比较分析英汉语中恭维语及其应答的异同，并探究出隐藏在差异后面的根源，以促进跨文化交流的顺利进行。

毕业论文关键词：中国；西方；文化差异；恭维语及其应答;比较研究

Contents

1.Introduction 1

2.Literature Review 2

3.The Relationship Between Compliment Speech and Culture 4

3.1Cooperation principle 5

3.2Politeness principle 6

4.The Comparison Between Chinese and Western Compliment Speech Acts 7

4.1The similarities of compliment speech acts in different cultures 7

4.2The differences of compliment speech acts in different cultures 8

5.The Causes of Different Compliment Speech Acts 11

5.1Collectivism and inpidualism 12

5.2Introversion and extroversion 14

5.3Hierarchy and democracy 14

6.The Strategies of Confronting Different Compliment Speech Acts 15

6.1Having sufficient linguistic and pragmatic knowledge 15

6.2Recognizing their different cultural background 16

7.Conclusion 16

Works Cited 18

 1.Introduction

In recent decades, compliment speech act has attracted a lot of attention. The western scholars, in particular, have done a lot of work. In 1981, after they had studied 686 pieces of compliments Manes and Wolfson found that there was a constant model to the American middle class when they use compliment speech act. Chinese scholars have also found some rules concerning Chinese compliments.

As one of the speech acts, compliments are said to be used by people who explicitly and implicitly attributes credit to the receiver. Holmes (1988:448) pointed out in 1988: “Compliments should function as positively affective speech acts and can be considered as phatic communion, a type of speech which ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words.” Compliment often refers to something that is good and usually positively valued by the speaker and addressee, such as one’s beautiful appearance, enviable possession, and friendly personality. It is known that compliments exist in all kinds of social groups and different cultures, embodying the activities of people’s communication in distinctive degrees. It not only reflects the national history and cultural background but also the way of living and the pattern of thinking. This is why they serve as social lubricants, and are also said to grease the social wheels. Giving compliment is a positive and polite speech act which is frequently used in many situations to show the appreciation and admiration to others, and it is universally regarded as a kind of supportive and assessment action. When compliment speech act expresses a kind of appreciation or admiration, it not only has a close relationship with people’s daily life, but also aims at building a good relationship, even maintaining a long-term relationship and enhancing the solidarity of people. Culture has an effect on language, which leads to various compliment speech acts. What’s more, the differences of compliments in different languages may cause misunderstanding or even cultural conflicts in intercultural communication. Therefore, a comparative study on the similarities and differences of compliment speech act in China and western countries is absolutely necessary. Compliment speech act as a part of culture mirrors the national characteristics.