【正文】 n with certain mendatory terms, such as I like your hair short like that. An implicit pliment requires certain inference work. For example, I wish I could manage my work like you. The positive assessment of the other party is given in an indirect way and is thus an implicit pliment. No matter what definitions the scholars give the pliment, no one will deny that the pliment is a polite speech act that frequently occurs in people39。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。 but more important is to save others39。s face. Giving and accepting pliments in Chinese society are greatly influenced by the Confucian tradition. Within the tradition, Chinese people live through cooperation。 face and not elevating themselves above others. In this way, they maintain warm human feelings, promote the good of the group above their own interest, and thus follow the principles of humanism, faithfulness, and propriety. The Confucian tradition places a high value on education, and particularly on educating the members of society in the ways humans should relate and interact with each other. In contrast, the first person is used frequently in English pliments. English society is oriented by the principle of individualism and as a result equality between people is highly valued. Individualism refers to the broad value tendencies of a culture in emphasizing the importance of individual identity over group identity, individual rights over group rights, and individual needs over group needs. In individualistic culture, people are selforiented and take much care of themselves .Under the guidance of individualism, people behave according to their own needs without considering .the hearer39。 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。 pliments on having beautiful hair are not. Compliments on attractive dress or blouse or on noticeable weight loss occur in almost any situation in which a pliment is at all appropriate。 with time limit, for instance, today in example: You look nice today. Within the category of appearance, there e totally different culturespecific topics. 婁底職業(yè)技術(shù)學(xué)院畢業(yè)論文 Differences of Compliment in English and Chinese 9 First of all, weight loss is considered by Chinese to be a cause for concern, whereas in English society it is a cause for congratulation. Looking thin or losing weight is regarded as a positive attribute in English society, which they think is a sign of good health. (Wolfson , 1989a)Thus they