【正文】 errides the Agreement Maxim, because“貶己尊人 ”(degrading oneself and upgrading the others) is the characteristic of Chinese polite principle (Gu Yueguo, 1990). The Chinese equivalent of modesty is qianxu, whose cultural connotation is quite different from that of the word in English culture in many ways: Chinese qianxu involves putting down oneself and elevating others while modesty as Leech39。 timidness characteristic, which originated from a very conservative 婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 Differences in Compliment Response Formulas 12 culture, as reflected in their use of more nonacceptance and nonagreement types of responses to pliments. In addition, their use of such types of responses indicates their desire to maintain social balance with their respective interlocutors, as Nonacceptance replies enable them to shift the plimentary force while Nonagreement responses help them to weaken or deny that force. Chinese social norms require a much higher level of indirectness in social interaction. English Compliment Response Formulas American people use more explicit response strategies. The primary consideration for Americans when they respond to pliments is Leech39。ve lost weight. In China, losing weight may mean that someone has bee sick without noticing the sickness. Far from being a pliment, You39。 by working for the mon good, by supporting each other, and by saving others39。s Dictionary of Current English with Chinese Translation (Third edition, 1987), the word pliment is interpreted in two aspects when it is used as a noun. First, pliment means an expression of admiration, approval, etc, either in words or by action, eg. by asking somebody for his advice or opinions, or by imitating him. Second, in its plural form, pliments means greetings. Of course, pliments in this paper falls into the first one. Some researchers of pliments adopt the definition a verbal expression of courteous praise by New Webster39。因此，不同的語言，其稱贊語也必定存在著較大的差異。 Technical College December,2021 婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 Abstract I Abstract Abstract: Compliment is a polite speech act that is frequently used in people39。 稱贊 語 。s definition as follows: A pliment response is a verbal acknowledgement that the respondent of 婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 of Compliment and Its Responses 5 the pliment heard and reacted to the pliment(Nelson, et. al. 1996: 413). Compliment responses can be said to act as the first reaction of the plimented to the pliment.婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 Differences of Compliment in English and Chinese 6 2 .Culture Differences of Compliment in English and Chinese The previous chapters demonstrate that Chinese pliments are as formulaic as English pliments semantically and syntactically. The differences lie in details. Ritualized phrases and figures of speech related to Chinese culture are frequently used in Chinese pliments. Chinese people seldom use verbs to give pliments, whereas American people use verbs frequently, especially the two verbs, love and like to show appreciation. They also have a high tendency to use first person I, not second person you, which is frequently used by Chinese people. The topics in Chinese pliments focus on the same three types of topics, traits/ability, appearance, and possessions as in English pliments. However, there is a different tendency within the four types of topics, Chinese people give priority to traits/talents and ability, while American people are more favor of appearances and possessions. In addition, Chinese people indeed respond to a pliment more indirectly and a little less frequently than American people. This can be observed from the high frequency of using the strategies of No acknowledgement and Praise downgrade in Chinese pliments and high frequency of using Appreciation token and Return in English pliments. Cultural Differences in Expressing Compliment Chinese pliments are realized through more ritualized phrases or proverbs, a large number of proverbs and idioms e down to us from thousands of years ago, which are closely related to traditional Chinese culture. Those mendatory phrases are frequently quoted in plimenting behaviors for purpose of vividness and emphasis. English pliments use more verbs and adjectives because individualism is 婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 Differences of Compliment in English and Chinese 7 highly valued in society and as a result, equal or horizontal relationship is highly valued. It is also related to the fact that more pliments are given and received by females in daily munication. The second person is the most preferential choice in Chinese pliments. In China, people believe that good interpersonal relationships depend on good munication skills, which include directly expressing oneself, showing back respects, etc. Preserving one39。 Chinese pliments focus mainly on traits/talents and ability, Confucianism stresses the benefits of fixed hierarchical relationships in which respect is shown for age, seniority, rank, and family background. This is why people concentrate on the topics of talents and ability. It is observed that people of high status seem to enjoy being flattered extensively. In addition to specifying the proper nature of relationships, Confucianism set forth four principles as guides to proper human behaviors: humanism (Ren), faithfulness (Yi), propriety (Li) and wisdom (Zhi). These principles are pletely reflected in the ways Chinese people give and respond pliments. Traits/talents and ability is something related to one39。ve lost weight, it will only make him worry about his health. Age and salary, which Americans are very conscious of, are a mon pliment topic in the Chinese