Abstract

As a kind of linguistic communication, compliments are essential to human beings and they are frequently applied in daily life to make a smooth conversation and maintain harmonious social relationships. However, owing to their different cultural roots and backgrounds, English and Chinese compliments differ in many aspects. The paper analyzes the major differences in ways of expressing compliments, complement topics, and response strategies. Besides, it also involves the reasons for the differences between English and Chinese compliments.

Key words:  compliment, cultural differences, response strategy, cultural connotation

摘 要

作为一种语言表达方式，恭维语对于人们来说是必不可少的。人们经常在日常生活中使用恭维语以达到谈话顺利与保持和谐的社会关系的效果。然而，由于不同的文化根源和背景，英语恭维语和中文恭维语在许多反面都存在差异。这篇论文从恭维语的表达方式，谈论的话题和应答策略三个方面分析了中英两种语言在恭维语方面的文化差异，并指出造成此差异的文化根源。

关键词：恭维语；文化差异；应答策略；文化内涵

1. Introduction
     As a kind of speech act, complimenting is frequently used in interpersonal communications and it is an indispensable part in our everyday life. Just as Janet Graham¹ put it, “Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit；we cannot flower and grow without.” (Rong, 2008) We all have given compliments and we all receive them now and then. People use compliments to praise others’ virtues, abilities, behaviors, appearances, personalities and so on. Appropriate compliments serve as an effective means to make conversations go smoothly in a harmonious way, strengthen human relationships, promote mutual affections and relieve embarrassing situations and so on. However, owing to different cultural backgrounds as well as different social values, there are some differences in compliments used in English and Chinese. 
     This paper is composed of three parts. Part one serves as a brief introduction to this paper; part two discusses the cultural differences from two aspects: literal differences and cultural connotations; part three is the conclusion of the paper.  2. Demonstration
2.1 Definition
     In dictionary, compliment is defined as “an expression of esteem, respect, affection, or admiration; especially: an admiring remark” (Webster). In this paper, the definition cited is proposed by Holmes: “A compliment is a speech act which explicitly or implicitly attributes credit to someone other than the speaker, usually the person addressed, for some ‘good’ (possession, characteristic, skill, etc.), which is positively valued by the speaker and the hearer.” In his point of view, a compliment is an “intricate combination of positive evaluation, displayed good feelings, implicit friendliness, and half-admitted desire to please”.