Compliments in American English and Chinese: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

Compliment as a speech act is shared by all the nations to create or reinforce the solidarity in communication. However, compliment/response interaction may vary greatly because of the influences and constraints of different cultural factors. This study compares the differences of compliments in American English and Chinese. Topics, linguistic formulas and compliment respoaCompliment as a speech act is shared by all the nations to create or reinforce the solidarity in communication. However, compliment/response interaction may vary greatly because of the influences and constraints of different cultural factors. This study compares the differences of compliments in American English and Chinese. Topics, linguistic formulas and compliment responses are discussed and special emphasis is laid on some different interpretations of the well-accepted patterns and the changes in the speech act of complimenting/responding to compliments due to the popularization and development of English learning and teaching in China.nses are discussed and special emphasis is laid on some different interpretations of the well-accepted patterns and the changes in the speech act of complimenting/responding to compliments due to the popularization and development of English learning and teaching in Chin