A Sociopragmatic Study of Intra-Gender Compliment Responses by Saudi College Students

Abstract

This study examines compliment responses in Hejazi Arabic as used by Saudi college students. It focuses on the types of compliment responses used, the relationship of the speaker’s gender with his/her compliment behavior, and the sociocultural values attached to this behavior. Examples of compliment responses were elicited from King Abdulaziz University students using a number of compliment formulas that are generally considered to be very common in Hejazi Arabic. The compliment responses were analyzed in terms of their semantic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic characteristics, based on Leech’s (1983) politeness maxims and the face-management approach of Brown and Levinson (1987). The analysis shows that the speakers, especially women, accept the compliment paid to them in the majority of the compliment responses collected, which can be accounted for by Leech’s Approbation, Tact and Agreement Maxims in which the interlocutors emphasize their closeness with each other. In accordance with face-politeness, the dominance of the acceptance compliment responses makes them as positive politeness strategies in which the compliment recipient negotiates or offers solidarity with the complimenter. In examining the concepts of complimenting in culture-specific contexts, this research provides further data to understand, illustrate and test the abovementioned politeness models. It also contributes to sociolinguistic theory by examining variation in the use of compliment responses in same-sex interactions. Keywords: compliments; compliment responses; gender; Hejazi Arabic; politeness maxims, positive politeness

Birth Congratulation Messages on Facebook in Jordan: A Sociopragmatic Analysis

“…In example 26, ma:ʃallah "the grace of God be upon you" and taba:rakallah "God blesses" are used to enhance the potency of the protective prayer. This use of ma:ʃallah "the grace of God be upon you" for protection is also noted by scholars such as Migdadi et al (2010), Migdadi (2021), Cuesta (2017), andMahzari (2017, 115), who argue that this expression is directly interpreted as a safety measure against the evil eye and indirectly serves as a compliment…”

“…Sociopragmatics typically focuses on the analysis of speech acts such as complimenting, apologizing, requesting, congratulating, suggesting and advising. Many studies (e.g., Holmes 1986;Boxer 1995;Saleem et al 2018Saleem et al , 2021Migdadi 2003Migdadi , 2021Migdadi et al 2012;Al-compared politeness strategies between Jordanian and American cultures, demonstrating similarities in strategies but differences in religious formulas. Cuesta (2017) studied Arabic congratulations in wedding and childbirth contexts, recognizing formulaic expressions and blessing expressions.…”