A COMPARISON BETWEEN MALAY AND AMERICAN RESPONSES TO

COMPLIMENTS IN ENGLISH

NURIZAH BINTI MD NGADIRAN

Laporan Projek Ini Dikemukakan Sebagai Memenuhi

Sebahagian Daripada Syarat Penganugerahan

Ijazah Sarjana Pendidikan (TESL)

Fakulti Pendidikan

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

OKTOBER 2009

V

ABSTRACT

This investigation is pertaining to a comparison of compliment responses between

Malay and American responses to compliments in English. The respondents of this

research comprise of 10 Malays and 10 Americans; half of them are males and another

half of the respondents are females, aged between 20 to 22 years old and currently, they

are studying in a tertiary level. In the process of achieving the objectives of the study, the

instruments used in this research were a set of Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and a

number of interview questions. The findings suggest that there are a few similarities as

well as differences of compliment responses produced by the Malay and the American

respondents involved in this research. Moreover, the compliment response patterns

produced by the two groups of respondents based on their gender have managed to be

discovered in this investigation. Last but not least, this paper has also highlighted the

underlying reasons for the choices of compliment responses produced by the respondents

in the DCTs distributed to them earlier on which include social factors, the influence

form mass-media, subject matters being complimented on, as well as their own belief.

VI

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini adalah berkaitan dengan perbandingan balasan terhadap pujian yang

diberikan di antara bangsa Melayu dan warga Amerika Syarikat. Sampel bagi kajian ini

terdiri daripada 10 orang bangsa Melayu dan 10 orang warga Amerika Syarikat; separuh

daripada sampel ini merupakan lelaki, manakala separuh lagi merupakan wanita, berumur

di antara 20 - 22 tahun dan di ketika kajian ini dijalankan, mereka merupakan pelajar -

pelajar universiti. Bagi mencapai objektif-objektif kajian, penyelidik telah menggunakan

satu set Discourse Completion Test (DCT) dan satu set soalan temuduga. Dapatan kajian

ini telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapat persamaan dan perbezaan dalam balasan terhadap

pujian di antara bangsa Melayu dan warga Amerika Syarikat yang terlibat dengan projek

ini. Tambahan lagi, kajian ini juga telah mendapati bahawa terdapat beberapa corak di

dalam balasan terhadap pujian yag diberikan berdasarkan kepada jantina para sampel.

Dalam masa yang sama, kajian ini juga telah mengenalpasti sebab-sebab bagi sampel

yang terlibat dengan kajian ini memilih beberapa jenis balasan terhadap pujian yang

diberikan kepada mereka. Sebab-sebab tersebut terdiri daripada faktor sosial, pengaruh

media massa, topic pujian, serta kepercayaan agama para sampel.

vi i

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page

Pengesahan Penyelia i

Declaration ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgement iv

Abstract V

Abstrak vi

Table of Content vii

List of Tables and Figures X

List of Abbreviations xi

List of Appendices xii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Background of Study 2

1.3 Statement of Problem 3

vi i i

1.4 Objectives of Research 5

1.5 Research Questions 6

1.6 Scope and Limitation of Research 6

1.7 Significances of Research 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 Theories on Language in Human Interactions 10

2.3 Theories on Compliment Behaviors 11

2.4 Theories on Compliment Responses 12

2.5 Researches on Compliment Responses Relating to Cultures and Genders 16

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction 24

3.2 The Research Methodology 25

3.3 The Samples 26

3.4 The Instruments of the Study 27

3.4.1 Discourse Completion Test (DCT) 27

3.4.2 Interview questions 29

3.5 The Data Analysis 31

3.6 The Research Procedures 31

3.7 The Pilot Test 32

ix

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Introduction 33

4.2. The Findings from the Quantitative Data (DCT) 35

4.2.1 The similarities and the differences between the Malays and

the Americans' compliment responses 37

4.2.2 The compliment responses patterns of the Malays based on

their gender 39

4.3 The Findings from the Qualitative Data (Interview Sessions) 46

4.3.1 Feedbacks from the male Malay respondents 47

4.3.2 Feedbacks from the female Malay respondents 49

4.3.3 Feedbacks from the male American respondents 50

4.3.4 Feedbacks from the female American respondents 51

4.4 Discussions 52

4.5 Conclusions 55

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction 56

5.2 Conclusions 57

5.3 Pedagogical Implications 59

5.4 Limitations of the Study 61

5.5 Recommendations for Future Researches 62

REFERENCES 64

APPENDICES 69

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table Title Page

Table 2.1 Compliment Subject Matters 12

Table 2.2 Herbert's Taxonomy of Compliment Responses 15

Table 2.3 Studies of Compliment Responses Across Cultures 19

Table 2.4 Researches on Compliment Responses Relating to Gender 22

Table 3.1 The Respondents of the Research 26

Table 3.2 The Compliment Responses Produced by the Respondents 29

Table 4.1 The Compliment Responses 35

Figure Title Page

Figure 4.1 Malays and Americans' Compliment Responses 37

Figure 4.2 The Male Malays and Americans' Agreement Comp. Responses 40

Figure 4.2 The Male Malays and Americans' Non-Agreement Comp. Resp. 42

Figure 4.3 The Female Malays and Americans' Agreement Comp. Responses 44

Figure 4.4 The Female Malays and Americans' Non-Agreement Comp. Resp. 45

Xll

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Title Page

1 The Discourse Completion Test (DCT) 69

2 The Interview Questions 77

xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. L2 Second Language

2. DCT Discourse Completion Test

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Generally, the act of communication with the interlocutors of other languages can

be considered as a complicated event which involves two types of competencies;

linguistic as well as pragmatic. Thus, if the speakers do not possess both skills,

communication breakdowns will definitely occur. Moreover, socio cultural customs and

boundaries also shape the way one communicates with another person. As highlighted in

an article that discusses on compliment responses (2003), in the United States of

America, at least, most people accept the compliment given to them by saying 'thank

2

you' or 'thanks'. Sometimes, they will also provide some additional information, for that

the conversation will keep going on. On the other hand, in Indonesia, to show modesty,

most of the people there will reply to the compliment given by rejecting it. According to

Brown and Levinson (1987), by denying a compliment, it does not mean that they are not

accepting the kind words, nor have no respect towards the person making the

compliment. Instead, we have to realize that there are culturally diverse ways in

responding to compliments.

1.2 Background of Study

The number of investigations on compliment responses between English used by

the native speakers and English used by L2 learners has increased in the past few years.

Basically, there is no difference between cultures in the use of compliments. Then again,

as pointed out by A1 Falasi (2007), differences arise when it comes to compliment

responses. For example, Arabic and South African English speakers are found to accept

the compliments rather than rejecting them. On the contrary, Asian non native speakers

of English prefer to reject the compliments, as they have difficulties in responding

appropriately to compliments (Ghawi, 1993). According to Nelson, Al-Batal and Echols

(1996) the Syrians respond to the compliments with agreement or formulaic expression,

while the Americans will rather accept or mitigate the force of the compliments.

3

Apart from differences between cultures, in addition, it is also vital to take into

account, the effect of inter-sex communication in different cultures on the planet. There

are a few investigations relating to the effect of gender in communication, as well as

cross-gender communication in a particular ethnicity. Just to name a few, Herbert (1986),

Holmes (1995), and Tannen (1996) are some of the significant names relating to this area.

In particular, as stated by Cedar (2006), men and women depend on different sub-cultural

norms when interpreting the cultural information encoded by language. Thus, it is useful

to investigate the communicative events between men and women of different cultures

exchanging verbal and non-verbal compliments and responses.

Regardless of the above investigations on compliments and compliment

responses, it is apparent that there is lack of comparative researches between the native

speakers of English language and the Malay speakers of English.

1.3 Statement of Problem

It is fascinating to see that the patterns of compliment responses vary greatly

across societies. As stated by Baek (1998), in non-western countries, the agreement rates

are much lower compared to those who's English is their first language. Daikuhara

4

(1986) reported that most of the time, the Japanese's responses to compliments will be

"No, no." or "That's not true." However, according to Wolfson (1993), among

Americans, disagreement frequently happens in communications between associates.

As for compliment behaviors of men and women, based on the findings of New

Zealand English research conducted by Holmes (1989), a basic difference of compliment

behavior is present among the two. He argues that for males, the purpose of a compliment

is a face threatening act. In contrast, when a female gives a compliment to another, her

puipose is to show that she shares the same feeling or opinion and also, offers a kind

mutual support to the particulars which are complimented.

However, in her research, Ming Ai (2008) states that, despite countless researches

on compliment and compliment responses, few or none of them are associated with the

Malaysian culture. Hence, it would be motivating to conduct an investigation on the

similarities and the differences of the Malays and the Americans' responses to

compliments, and to investigate the compliment responses patterns of the two groups in

terms of their gender.

Furthermore, a comparison of compliment responses concerning native speakers

of English and Malay speakers of English would positively benefit those in line with the

English language pedagogy, particularly in Malaysia. Based on the findings, relevant

teaching methodologies, as well as activities, can be designed in order to assist the

students in mastering the language better. At the same time, the students will be able to

5

grasp important knowledge on the appropriate ways of responding to compliments, and in

this case, while communicating with the Americans when they one day, have the chance

to do so.

1.4 Objectives of Research

There are three objectives of this research, and they are as follows:

a. To examine the similarities and the differences of the Malays and the Americans'

compliment responses.

b. To investigate the compliment response patterns of the Malays and the Americans

based on their genders.

c. To discover the underlying reasons of choosing such compliment responses.

6

1.5 Research Questions

This study attempts to answer two research questions, which are:

a. What are the similarities and the differences between the Malays and Americans'

compliment responses?

b. What are the compliment response patterns of the Malays and the Americans

based on their gender?

c. What are the underlying reasons behind the choices of compliment responses?

1.6 Scope and Limitation of Research

The focus of this research is mainly on a comparison of compliment responses

between the Malay non-native speakers of English and the Americans. The Malays; five

male and five female respondents, are currently studying in one of the most prominent

universities in Malaysia, while another five male and five Americans are at present,

studying in a tertiary level in one of the major higher institutions in the United States of

America. The ages of the respondents are between twenty to twenty two years old.

7

There are three focal points of the investigation. Firstly, the researcher will try to

highlight the similarities and the dissimilarities of each group, pertaining to the

compliment responses produced. Secondly, the researcher would like to identify the

compliment patterns of the Malays and the Americans based on their sexual category.

And thirdly, the researcher also would like to find out the underlying reasons of the

respondents choosing certain compliment responses in the test given to them earlier on.

For these reasons, there are a few limitations of this investigation. To begin with,

this research is limited to these particular respondents. Thus, the findings and results

obtained from this research might not strike resemblances in other researches relating to

this area of study. Additionally, this research will only focus on compliment responses

produced by these two groups; the Americans and the Malays. As a result, conclusions

derived from this investigation will primarily linger around the compliment response

patterns produced by the two groups of respondents.

1.7 Significances of Research

Nowadays, according to a website that discusses on cross-cultural communication

researches (2008), there has become an increasing need for higher institutions across the

globe to include intercultural and international knowledge, as well as understanding into

8

the education of their students. International literacy, as well as cross-cultural

understanding, is becoming significant to one's cultural, scientific, economic, and

political wellbeing. It has also become important for colleges to train their fellow students

to effectively and comfortably communicating with other people with different kinds of

cultural views.

Thus, this study is also useful for university educators in Malaysia to look back

into the English syllabuses offered by the respective universities. As far as cross-cultural

communication field is concerned, they will be able to implement the content of the

syllabus which are relevant to be introduced to their students. At the same time, they will

also have a golden opportunity of revising the content that should be adapted and

replacing it with a new-improved version

In the process of teaching and learning, the educators will also have the chance to

design relevant teaching aids and implement appropriate teaching methodologies to the

language learners. By doing so, the learners' level of English language proficiency will

be increased tremendously, as they will not be restricted in only using one or two

compliment responses. Instead, the language learners will have sufficient vocabularies

relating to compliment responses to be used appropriately according to the

communication context.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the topics that will be covered comprise of theories on language in

human interaction and compliment behaviors. In addition, compliment responses and

previous researches on compliment responses across cultures and genders will also be

mentioned in this particular chapter.

10

2.2 Theories on Language in Human Interactions

Principally, language carries two purposes, and they are referential and affective.

Holmes (1992) denotes that language expresses objective information of a referential

kind, and at the same time, it can also convey the feeling of a person. As an interlocutor,

in expressing something on his or her mind, one has to make sure that the puipose of the

sentences being used are relevant interpretations and perceptions about the roles of the

sentences themselves. This is one of the reasons why paying appropriate compliment

response maybe different from one person to another.

As stated by Holmes (1992), social factors play an important role in the use of

language in human interaction. For some, emphasis will be given to the users of the

language, while others will relates to its uses; the social setting and functions of

interaction. In certain situations, the speakers and the recipients are important factors that

need to be considered, whereas in other occasions, the essential aspect is the setting or the

social context. Additionally, the objective of the communication maybe important, while

in other circumstances, the topic has a control over the choice of language being used in a

conversation.

11

2.3 Theories on Compliment Behaviors

Based on an article that discusses compliments (2009), compliments are used for

a handful of reasons, and they are as stated below;

a. to express admiration or approval of someone's work, appearance and taste

b. to establish, confirm and maintain solidarity

c. to replace greetings, gratitude, apologies and congratulations

d. to soften face-threatening acts such as apologies, requests and criticism

e. to reinforce desired behaviors

Knapp, Hopper and Bell (1984), mention that most compliments are given to

recipients of the same age and social status. On top of that, according to Herbert (1989),

in American English, agreement responses happen just about one third if the time and

generally, there are three primary compliment subject matters, and the matters are shown

in Table 2.1.

13

establishment or reinforcement of solidarity between the speaker and the recipient. As the

function of the compliment itself may vary, so does the types of compliment responses.

For instance, for certain people, the responses tend to maximize their superior skill and

knowledge. However, for other people, they have a propensity to minimize it. On top of

that, agreeing and accepting the compliments given can be seen as self-praise, while

rejecting the compliments may be seen as an impolite manner.

The first researcher who had called attention to compliment responses from a

pragmatic point of view was Pomerantz (1978). Based on the finding of her research, she

argued that, in American English, the addressee of a compliment faces two (2)

contradicting conditions which pose a tight spot when responding to it; (A) agree to the

speaker, and (B) avoid self-praise. For instance, the addressee agrees with the addresser

by accepting the compliment praise (Condition A), it breaks Condition B in that the

response goes against the speaker's sociolinguistic expectations. However, when the

addressee does not agree to the compliment in order to follow Condition B, the response

can be considered as face-threatening since it breaks Condition A. The addressee of the

compliments implements a variety of solutions to overcome this clash, categorized by

Pomerantz as (1) Acceptance, (2) Rejection, and (3) Self-praise Avoidance.

In line with theories of compliment responses, Leech (1983) had proposed Model

of Politeness. According to his point of view, one of the major motivations for speakers

to actually breach conversational principles is to be polite. In his Politeness Principles, he

suggested six maxims to account for a variety of responses to compliments, such as

14

accepting, returning, mitigating, and rejecting, by the application of one or more than one

maxim. For instance, accepting compliments can be considered as Adherence to the

Agreement Maxim; returning compliments can be seen as an Application of the

Agreement Maxim and the Approbation Maxim; offering object of compliment or help as

an Application of the Agreement Maxim and the Tact Maxim; deflecting a compromising

strategy between the needs to stick onto the Agreement Maxim and the Modesty Maxim;

and Rejection as adherence to the Modesty Maxim.

As for Brown and Levinson's Model of Politeness (1987), in Western context,

accepting compliments shows the addressee's attention to the addresser's positive face

wants because the former anoints the face of the recipient to be approved and liked. Still,

the model proposed by them cannot clarify the implementation of other kinds of

strategies, such as returning, or deflecting by English speakers (Holmes, 1988), or the

primary use of the rejecting approach by the Mandarin interlocutors (Chen, 1993).

After analyzing American English speakers' compliment responses, Herbert

(1986) amended Pomerantz's taxonomy. Within 3 years, he collected more than a

thousand samples of compliment responses of the American college students. The

following table shows the conclusion of his research, as known as Herbert's Taxonomy

of Compliment Responses.

Table 2.2: Herbert's Taxonomy of Compliment Responses

Response Type Description Example

Appreciation Token A verbal or non-verbal acceptance of thecompliment, acceptance not being tied to thespecific semantics of the stimulus.

Thank you.

CommentAcceptance

Addressee accepts the complimentary force andoffers a relevant comment on the appreciatedtopic.

Yeah, it's my favorite too:

Praise Upgrade Addressee accepts the compliment and assertsthat the compliment force is insufficient.

Really brings out the blue in my eyes, doesn 't it?

Comment History Addressee offers a comment (or a series ofcomments) on the object complimented; thesecomments differ from comment acceptance inthat the latter are impersonal, that is, they shiftforce of the compliment from the addressee.

I bought it for the trip to Arizona.

Reassignment Addressee agrees with the compliment assertionbut the complimentary force is transferred tosome third person or to the object itself.

My brother gave it to me.

orIt really knitted itself.

Return As with reassignment except that the praise isshifted (or returned) to the first speaker.

So is yours.

Scale Down Addressee disagrees with the complimentaryforce, pointing to some flaw in the object orclaiming that the praise if overstated.

It's quite really old.

Question Addressee disagrees with the complimentaryforce, pointing to some flaw in the object orclaiming that the praise is overstated.

Do you really think so?

Disagreement Addressee asserts that the object complimentedis not worthy of praise: the first speaker'sassertion is in error.

I hate it.

Qualification Weaker that Disagreement: addressee merelyqualifies the original assertion, usually withthough, but, well, etc.

It's all right, but Jen's nicer.

Noacknowledgement

Addressee gives no indication of having heardthe compliment; the addressee either respondswith an irrelevant comment or gives no response.

-

RequestInterpretation

Addressee, consciously or not, interprets thecompliments as a request rather than a simplecompliment.

You want to borrow this too?

16

2.5 Researches on Compliment Responses Relating to Cultures and Genders

Inspired by Herbert's extensive research on responses to compliments, a number

of investigations in comparing complement responses had been conducted by numerous

researchers. One of them is a research conducted by Daikuhara (1986). This particular

researcher had collected 115 compliment exchanges of natural conversation by 50 native

speakers of Japanese. The findings of the investigation suggested that compliments by

Japanese seem to show the addresser's deference to the recipient and this may create

distance between both interlocutors. In order to sustain harmony between the

interlocutors, the recipient fills in this gap with rejecting or deflecting the compliment

In 1993, Chen had done an investigation in comparing compliment responses

produced by the American and the Chinese. He used written Discourse Completion Test

(DCT) towards the respondents of his research to achieve the objective of his

investigation. As for the findings, 95.73% of all compliment responses produced by the

Chinese respondents were rejecting. On the contrary, only 4.4% from the compliment

responses felt under the acceptance category.

In the following year, using the same research methodology utilized by Chen

(1993) which was DCT, Gajaseni (1994) had compared the compliment responses

produced by the Americans and the Thais. He computed an analysis of variance to mean

frequency of different response types which included acceptance, rejection and

indirection. The result of his study indicated that the Americans use acceptance type

responses considerably more frequent than the Thais.

17

An investigation relating to comparison of compliment and responses to

compliment of native speakers of American English, Puerto Rican Spanish and native

speakers of Puerto Rican Spanish speaking English had been carried out by Kryston-

Morales (1997). The primary research questions aimed to investigate how both

compliments and responses are realized and negotiated by the non-native speakers of

English, as well as how socio-linguistic norms of both groups are reflected in these

compliments. Furthermore, the study compared the strategy choice and use of NS of

English and NS of Puerto Rican Spanish. Based on the results, generally, the strategy

choice was similar, but the semantic content of both languages varied. The Puerto Rican

Spanish-speakers tended to include more set-ups by the person receiving the compliment,

more requests for clarification, and the desire to lend or borrow the items being

complimented on.

In 1999, Hernandez-Herrero had conducted a descriptive work that offers a lexical

and syntactical comparison of complimenting behavior in American English and Costa

Rican Spanish. The researcher investigated eighty naturally-occurring compliments in

Costa Rican Spanish. The findings of the investigation indicated that, while American

English used a restricted set of lexical and syntactical structure, Costa Rican Spanish, on

the other hand, implemented a more varied system of syntactic patterns.

Hiba Qusay Abdul Sattar and Salasiah Che Lah (2009) had carried out a research

relating to compliment responses in English among Iraqi Postgraduates at Universiti

Sains Malaysia (USM). These researchers had tried to find out whether the respondents

18

will produce target-like compliment responses, and at the same time, discover evidence

of pragmatic transfer. To sum up, it was found that this particular group had adapted

various types of compliment responses. On top of that, pragmatic transfers were existed

in compliment responses produced by the respondents. According to both researchers,

this might occur due to the respondents' lack of knowledge of different sociolinguistic

rules among cultures. It could also because of the respondents' dependence on their

mother tongue sociolinguistic norm in realizing speech acts in the target language.

2 0

There were a number of previous researches on compliment responses available

pertaining to gender. Chung-hye Han (1992) had compared responses to compliments of 10

Korean females in English interactions and in Korean interactions with 10 American females.

The data were primarily from field notes and interviews. Based on the findings, in Korean,

most of them rejected the compliments. In the interview conducted afterwards, the Koreans

reveal that in their English textbook, only "thank you" is stated as a response to compliments.

In addition, they were under the impression that the Americans will most of the time, accept

compliments upon receiving them.

In 1993, Chiang and Pochtrager had investigated similarities and differences on ways

Chinese-bom speakers of English and American-bom speakers of English responded to

compliments, based on their gender and status. The respondents of this study included 15

American and 15 Chinese individual, and instrument used in this research is DCT of 18

specified situations. The findings suggested that there were significant differences in the two

cultural groups. In most situations, the Chinese-born English speakers used negative

elaboration as well as denial. On the contrary, the American-bom speakers resorted to

positive elaborations.

Nelson, Bakary and Batal (1996) had studied the similarities and the differences of

compliment responses between the Egyptians and the Americans thru interview sessions, and

one of the aims of the research was to look into the gender of the compliment giver and the

recipient. The respondents were 20 American students and 20 Egyptian students; half of them

were male and half of the respondents were female students. The result indicated that their

2 1

forms of compliments were similar; primarily adjectival, and it was responsible for the

positive meaning. The study additionally showed that the Americans produced compliments

more frequently as to the Egyptians.

Cedar, in 2006, did an investigation of compliment responses given by 12 American

native speakers and Thai students of the same number; using transcriptions from recorded

interviews and observations. As for the result of the investigation, it indicated that the latter

responded differently compared to the native speakers of English. Moreover, the Thai

students basically used the patterns that were not commonly used by the native speakers.

In 2007, Al-Falasi had conducted a study on finding out whether Arab female learners

of English produce target-like compliment responses in English and whether, while

communicating, pragmatic transfer can take place. In order to answer the research questions,

the instruments used in this study were DCT and several interview questions. The findings of

this research had suggested that Arabic expressions were sometimes being transferred to

English. This investigation also showed that the Arabic have some false impressions about

the native speakers of English that affect the way they reply to the compliments given,

Using DCT in a form of questionnaires, Davis (2009) had conducted a study which

examines compliment responses across gender within Australia. In addition, the researcher

would like to investigate the likelihood of males perceiving a compliment as flirtatious. As

for the results of this study, Australian speakers of English used acceptance token in all cases

2 2

when responding to non-intimate compliments. To add, the majority of male respondents

were also found to identify the compliment as neither 'flirtatious' nor 'innocent'.

In a few words, the table sums up the studies highlighted earlier on;

Table 2.4: Researches on Compliment Responses Relating to Gender

Study Participants Language Compared

Chung hye-Han

(1992)

• Koreans

• Americans

• L1 Koreans

• L2 American English

• LI American English

Chiang and

Pochtrager(1993)

• Chinese

• Americans

• L2 America English

• LI American English

Nelson, Al-Batal and

Echos (1996)

• Syrians

• Americans

• LI Arabic

• LI American English

Cedar (2006) • Thai

• American English

• LI Thai

• L2 American English

• LI American English

Al-Falasi (2007) • Arabs

• Americans

• LI Arabic

• L2 American English

• LI American English

Davis (2009) • Australians • LI Australian English

23

It can be seen that there are a handful of investigations and researches done on

compliment and compliment responses. Though, none of them is associated with the

Malaysian context and the Malay language. Hence, this research attempts to study the

similarities and the differences of the Malays and the Americans' responses to compliments.

The researcher will focus on the compliment responses patterns of the two groups in terms of

their gender. On top of that, this research will aim at inferring the respondents' reasons

behind choosing certain types of compliment responses.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

There are several aspects that will be discussed in this chapter. Mainly, the

research methodology, the samples, the instruments of the study and the data analysis of

this study will be highlighted. At the same time, the research procedures and the pilot test

will also be discussed in this chapter.

6 4

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Brown, P. and Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cedar, P. (2006). Thai and American Responses to Compliments in English. The Linguistic

Journal.

Chen, R. (1993). Responding to Compliments: A Contrastive Study of Politeness Strategies

between American English and Chinese Speakers. Journal of Pragmatics. 20: 49-75.

Chiang, B. and Pochtrager, F. (1993). A pilot study of compliment responses of American-

bom English speakers and Chinese-born speakers. ERIC

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Chung-hye Han. (1992). A comparative study of compliment responses: Korean females in

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Linguistics, 8 (2). 17.31.

Daikuhara, M. (1986). A study of compliments from a cross-cultural perspective: Japanese

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Davis, B. (2009). Ah, excuse me... I like your shirt": an examination of compliment responses

across gender by Australians. Griffith Working Papers in Pragmatics and Intercultural

Communication Volume 1, Issue 2. Retrieved August 9lh from

http://www.griffith.edu.au/ data/assets/pdf file/0009/88119/8.-Briallen-Davis—

Compliment-responses-across-gender.pdf

Gajaseni, C. (1994). A contrastive study of compliment responses in American English and

Thai including the effect of gender and social status. Dissertation. University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign.

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