Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of English Language and Literature, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran
2 Educational Psychology Department, College of Education and Human Resource Development, Texas A & M University, Texas, U.S.A
3 English Department, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan Branch, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Compliments (Cs) and compliment responses have been a prevailing topic of study in pragmatics due to their pivotal role in effective intercultural and transcultural interactions. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of research on compliments in the Persian language conducted over almost about the past four decades. It summarizes key findings of compliments in the Persian language used by Iranian speakers of Persian, discusses the significance of these findings, and speculates the future directions of research on complimenting studies on Persian language. An extensive bibliographical search on studies on this particular area yielded a database of nine studies on Persian Cs for this systematic review. After a brief exploration of the background of compliment studies done by prominent scholars in other languages, we provide a working definition of compliments. We then examine studies to date of complimenting behavior in Persian, highlighting similarities and differences, and any emerging trends. We provide a synthesis of the research conducted in this area, the theoretical frameworks, and the methodologies used in different studies, including data collection and data analysis. Based on the review of previous studies, we speculate on some possible directions for future research in this area.
Keywords
Abrams, Z. I. (2014). Using film to provide a context for teaching L2 pragmatics. System, 46(1), 55- 64.
Ansarin, A. A., & Morady Moghaddam, M. (2016). Complimenting functions by native English speakers and Iranian EFL learners: A divergence or convergence. Applied Research on English Language, 5(1), 51-76.
Bacelar da Silva, A. J. (2003). The effects of instruction on pragmatic development: Teaching polite refusals in English. Second Language Studies Paper, 22(1), 55-106.
Bachman, L. (1995). Fundamental considerations in language testing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Barron, A. (2019). Norms and variation in L2 pragmatics. In N. Taguchi (Ed.), Routledge handbook of SLA and pragmatics (pp. 287-307). New York, NY: Routledge.
Barron, A., & Schneider, K. P. (2009). Variational pragmatics: Studying the impact of social factors on language use in interaction. Intercultural Pragmatics, 6(4), 425-442.
Behnam, B., & Amizadeh, N. (2011). A comparative study of the compliments and compliment responses between English and Persian TV interviews. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 17(1), 65 -78.
Billmyer, K., & Varghese, M. (2000). Investigating instrument-based pragmatic variability: Effects of enhancing discourse completion tests. Applied Linguistics, 21(4), 517-552.
Birjandi, P., & Derakhshan, A. (2014). Pragmatic comprehension of apology, request, and refusal: An investigation on the effect of consciousness-raising video-driven prompts. Applied Research on English Language, 3(1), 67-86.
Blum-Kulka, S., & Hamo, M. (2011). Discourse pragmatics. Discourse Studies: A Multidisciplinary Introduction, 2(1), 143-164.
Boori, A. A. (1994). Semantic and syntactic patterning of Persian compliments and compliment responses: A sociolinguistic study with pedagogical implications. (Unpublished MA Thesis). Isfahan University, Iran.
Boroujeni, A. J., Domakani, M. R., & Sheykhi, S. (2016). Comparative cross-cultural analysis of compliments in English and Persian series. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 3(2), 177-187.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (Fifth edition). San Francisco: Prentice Hall.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Chafe, W., & Danielewicz, J. (1987). Properties of spoken and written language. In R. Horowitz & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), Comprehending oral and written language (p. 83-113). New York: Academic Press.
Chalak, A., & Abbasi, S. (2015). The effects of explicit and implicit pragmatic instruction on Iranian EFL learners’ production of suggestion speech act in the context of distance learning. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(4), 275-284.
Chen, R., & Yang, D. (2010). Responding to compliments in Chinese: Has it changed? Journal of Pragmatics, 42(7), 1951-1963.
Cohen, A. D. (2017). Teaching and learning second language pragmatics. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 428-452), Vol. 3. NY: Routledge.
Cohen, A. D. (2018). Learning pragmatics from native and nonnative language teachers. Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Culpeper, J., Mackey, A., & Taguchi, N. (2018). Second language pragmatics: From theory to research. New York, NY: Routledge.
Dehkordi, Z. G., & Chalak, A. (2015). English compliment response strategies on social networks by Iranian EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(2), 452-459.
Derakhshan, A. (2014). The effect of consciousness-raising video-driven prompts on the comprehension of implicatures and speech acts (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.
Derakhshan, A. (2015). The effect of video-enhanced input on the comprehension of implicature of the intermediate EFL learners. Golestan: Golestan University Press.
Derakhshan, A. (2019a). The relationship between Iranian EFL learners’ proficiency level and their knowledge of idiosyncratic and formulaic implicatures. Language Related Research, 10(5), 1-27.
Derakhshan, A. (2019b). [Review of the book Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and pragmatics, by N. Taguchi]. Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz031.
Derakhshan, A., & Arabmofrad, A. (2018). The impact of instruction on the pragmatic comprehension of speech acts of apology, request, and refusal among Iranian intermediate EFL learners. English Teaching & Learning, 42(1), 75-94.
Derakhshan, A., & Eslami, Z. (2015). The effect of consciousness-raising instruction on the comprehension of apology & request. TESL-EJ, 18(4). Available at http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume18/ej72/ej72a6/
Derakhshan, A., & Eslami, Z. (2019). Second language pragmatics: From theory to research. Intercultural Pragmatics, 16(5), 611-617.
Derakhshan, A., & Eslami, Z. (2020). The effect of meta-pragmatic awareness, interactive translation, and discussion through video-enhanced input on EFL learners’ comprehension of implicature. Applied Research on English Language, 9(1), 25-52.
Derakhshan, A., Eslami, Z. R., & Ghandhari, N. (in press). Investigating the interplay between emotional intelligence and interlanguage pragmatics competence: A case of Iranian lower-intermediate EFL learners. Issues in Language Teaching.
Derakhshan, A., Malmir, A., Greenier, V. (in press). Interlanguage pragmatic learning strategies (IPLS) as predictors of L2 speech act knowledge: A case of Iranian EFL learners. The Journal of Asia TEFL.
Derakhshan, A., & Shakki, F. (2020). The effect of implicit vs. explicit metapragmatic instruction on the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ pragmatic comprehension of apology and refusal. Journal of Language Research, 12(35), 151-175
Derakhshan, A., & Shakki, F., Sarani, M., A. (in press). The effect of dynamic and non-dynamic assessment on the comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ speech acts of apology and request. Language Related Research.
Eslami, Z. (2004). Face-keeping strategies in reaction to complaints: English and Persian. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 14(1), 179-195.
Eslami, Z. (2005). Raising the pragmatic awareness of language learners. ELT Journal, 59(3), 199-208.
Eslami, Z. Jabbari, N., & Kuo, L. (2019). Online compliments of Iranian Facebook users. In E. Ogiermann & P. G. Blitvich (Eds.), From speech acts to lay understandings of politeness: Multilingual and multicultural perspectives (pp. 68-92). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eslami, Z., & Derakhshan, A. (2020). Responding to compliments in Persian: New patterns and new cultural schema. In A.R. Korangi & F. Sharifian (Eds.), Persian linguistics in cultural contexts (pp. 82-107). London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.
Eslami, Z., & Derakhshan, A. (in press). Comparing compliments in face-to-face vs. online interactions among Iranian speakers of Persian. Gorgan: Golestan University Press.
Eslami, Z., & McLeod, K. D. (2010). It’s 8 o’clock in the morning-Are you watching television? Teaching indirect requests. In D. H. Tatsuki & N. R. Houck (Eds.), Pragmatics: Teaching speech acts (pp. 19-28). Maryland: TESOL.
Eslami, Z., Mirzaei, A., & Dini, S. (2015). The role of asynchronous computer mediated communication in the instruction and development of EFL learners' pragmatic competence. System, 48(1), 99-111.
Golato, A. (2002). German compliment responses. Journal of Pragmatics, 34(5), 547-571.
Golato, A. (2003). Studying compliment responses: A comparison of DCTs and recordings of naturally occurring talk. Applied Linguistics, 24(1), 90-121.
Golato, A. (2005). Compliments and compliment responses. In S. A. Thompson, & P. J. Hopper (Eds.), Compliment responses (pp. 167-200). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Gumperz, J. J. (1989). Contextualization cues and meta-pragmatics: The retrieval of cultural knowledge. CLS, 25(1), 77-88.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to systemic functional grammar (2nd Ed.). London: Edward Arnold.
Halliday, M. (2003). On language and linguistics. London: Continuum.
Hanson, V. L., & Bellugi, U. (1982). On the role of sign order and morphological structure in memory for American sign language sentences. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 21(5), 621-633.
Herbert, R. (1990). Sex-based differences in compliment behavior. Language in Society. 19(1), 201-224.
Holmes, J. (1993). New Zealand women are good to talk to: An analysis of politeness strategies in interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 20(2), 91-116.
Holmes, J. (1988). Paying compliments: A sex preferential positive politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics, 12(3), 445-465.
Hunston, S., & Thompson, G. (2000). Evaluation in text: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse: Authorial stance and the construction of discourse. Oxford University Press, UK.
Ishihara, N., & Cohen, A. D. (2014). Teaching and learning pragmatics: Where language and culture meet. Abingdon, England: Routledge.
Jin-pei, Z. (2013). Compliments and compliment responses in Philippine English. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 13(1), 25-41.
Johnson, D. M., & Roen, D. H. (1992). Complimenting and involvement in peer reviews: Gender variation. Language in Society, 21(1), 27-57.
Jucker, A. H. (2009). Speech act research between armchair, field, and laboratory: The case of compliments. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(8), 1611-1635.
Karimnia, A., & Afghari, A. (2010). On the applicability of cultural scripts in teaching L2 compliments. English Language Teaching, 3(3), 71-80.
Karimnia, A., & Afghari, A. (2011). Compliments in English and Persian interaction: A cross-cultural perspective. Jezikoslovlje, 12(1), 27-50.
Kasper, G. (2001). Four perspectives on L2 pragmatic development. Applied Linguistics, 22(4), 502-530.
Kasper, G., & Dahl, M. (1991). Research methods in inter-language pragmatics. Unites States: University of Hawaii Press
Kim, D. (2003). A descriptive analysis of Korean and English apologies with implications for inter-language pragmatics. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Florida, Florida.
Labov, W. (1984). Meaning, form, and use in context: Linguistic applications. In D. Schiffrin (Ed.), Intensity (pp. 43-70). United States: Georgetown University Press
Leech, G. N. (1983). Pragmatics, discourse analysis, stylistics, and “The Celebrated Letter.” Literariness and Linguistics, 6(2), 142-157.
Lin, C. Y., Woodfield, H., & Ren, W. (2012). Compliments in Taiwan and Mainland Chinese: The influence of region and compliment topic. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(11), 1486-1502.
LoCastro, V. (2013). Pragmatics for language educators: A sociolinguistic perspective. United Kingdom: Routledge.
Maíz-Arévalo, C. (2013). “Just click ‘Like”’: Computer-mediated responses to Spanish compliments. Journal of Pragmatics, 51(1), 47-67.
Maíz-Arévalo, C. 2010. Intercultural pragmatics: a contrastive analysis of compliments in English and Spanish. In M. L. Blanco Gómez & J. Marín Arrese, (Eds.), Discourse and communication: Cognitive and functional perspectives (175-208). Madrid: Dykinson & Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.
Maíz-Arévalo, C., & García-Gómez, A. (2013). ‘You look terrific!’ Social evaluation and relationships in online compliments. Discourse Studies, 15(6), 735-760.
Malmir, A., &Derakhshan, A. (2020). The socio-pragmatic, lexico-grammatical, and cognitive strategies in L2 pragmatic comprehension: A case of Iranian male vs. female EFL learners. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 8(1), 1-23.
Malmir, A., & Derakhshan, A. (in press). Identity processing styles as predictors of L2 pragmatic knowledge and performance: A case of common English speech acts. Journal of Language Horizons.
Manes, J., & Wolfson, N. (1981). The compliment formula. Conversational Routine, 96(1), 115-132.
Mirzaei, A. & Eslami, Z. R. (2013). Exploring the variability dynamics of wedding invitation discourse in Iran. Journal of Pragmatics, 55(1), 103-118.
Ningrum, R. F., Suharsono, S., & Suwono, S. (2018). Gender’s politeness strategies of making requests and giving compliments in classroom setting sociopragmatic perspeective. Journal of English Language and Literature, 9(1), 765-777.
Pishghadam, R. (2013). Introducing “Cultuling” as a dynamic tool in culturology of language. Journal of Language and Translation Studies, 45(4), 47-62.
Pishghadam, R., Ebrahimi, S., & Derakhshan, A. (2020). Cultuling analysis: A new methodology for discovering cultural memes. International Journal of Society, Culture, and Language, 8(2), 17-34.
Pishghadam, R., Ebrahimi, S., Naji Meidani, E., & Derakhshan, A. (in press). An introduction to “Cultuling” Analysis (CLA) in light of variational pragmatics: A step towards “Euculturing”. Research in Applied Linguistics.
Placencia, M. E., & Lower, A. (2013). Your kids are so cute!: Complimenting behavior on Facebook among family and friends. Intercultural Pragmatics, 10(4), 617-646.
Placencia, M. E., & Lower, A. (2017). Pragmatics of social media. In C. Hoffmann & W. Bublitz (Eds.), Compliments and compliment responses (pp. 633-660). Berlin: De Gruyter
Pomerantz, A. (1978). Studies in the organization of conversational interaction. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Compliment responses: Notes on the co-operation of multiple constraints (pp. 79-112). New York: Academic Press.
Risko, V. J., Roller, C. M., Cummins, C., Bean, R. M., Block, C. C., Anders, P. L., & Flood, J. (2008). A critical analysis of research on reading teacher education. Reading Research Quarterly, 43(3), 252-288.
Rose, K. R. (2001). Compliments and compliment responses in film: Implications for pragmatics research and language teaching1. IRAL, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 39(4), 309-326.
Rose, K. R., & Kwai-fun, C. N. (2001). Inductive and deductive teaching of compliments and compliment responses. Pragmatics in Language Teaching, 145(1), 145-170.
Sadeghi, E., & Zarei, G. (2013). Investigating the use of compliments in Persian and English: A case study of Iranian EFL students. Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Translation Studies, 2(2), 30-49.
Shahidipour, V., & Zarei, G. R. (2016). Investigating age–based compliments in Persian. Journal of English Education, 4(2), 275-288.
Shahidipour, V., & Zarei, G. R. (2017). Investigating the use of compliments and compliment responses in Persian: Effect of educational background. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 6(1), 227-239.
Sharifian, F., Chalak, A., & Dehkordi, Z. (2019). The Persian cultural schema: Compliment response strategies on social networking sites among Persian EFL learners. The Journal of Applied Linguistics and Applied Literature: Dynamics and Advances, 7(2), 61-81.
Sapir, E., & B. Whorf (1956). Language, thought, and reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Sifianou, M. (2001). Compliments and politeness. InA. Bayrtaktaroglou & M. Sifianou (Eds), Linguistic politeness: The case of Greece and Turkey (pp. 391-430). Amesterdam:John Benjamins Company.
Sifianou, M. (2013). The impact of globalization on politeness and impoliteness. Journal of Pragmatics, 55(1), 86-102.
Sonnenburg-Winkler, S. L., Eslami, Z., & Derakhshan, A. (in press). Rater variation in pragmatic assessment: The impact of linguistic background on peer-assessment and self- assessment. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics.
Sorahi, M. A., & Nazemi, T. B. (2013). A cross-cultural study of the use of compliment strategies among English and Persian speakers. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 16(9), 1292-1296.
Strubel-Burgdorf, S. (2018). Compliments and positive assessments: Sequential organization in multi-party conversations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Swales, J. M. (2004). Research genres: Explorations and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Taguchi, N. (2019). The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and pragmatics. InN. Taguchi (Ed.), SLA and pragmatics: An overview (pp. 1-14). New York, NY: Routledge.
Taguchi, N., & Kim, Y. (2018). Task-based approaches to teaching and assessing pragmatics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Tajeddin, A., & Zand Moghadam, A. (2012). Interlanguage pragmatic motivation: Its construct and impact on speech act production. RELC Journal, 43(4), 353-72.
Tajeddin, Z., & Yazdanmehr, E. (2013). Investigating the structural patterns and pragmatic functions of compliments made by Iranian EFL learners. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 4(10), 27-51.
Thompson, G. (2013). Introducing functional grammar. New York: Routledge.
Van Ham, M., Manley, D., Bailey, N., Simpson, L., & Maclennan, D. (2012). Neighborhood effects research: New perspectives. In M. van Ham, D. Manley, N. Bailey, L. Simpson, & D. Maclennan, (Eds.) Neighborhood effects research: New perspectives (pp. 1-21). Springer, Dordrecht.
Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wang, Y. F., & Tsai, P. H. (2003). An empirical study on compliments and compliment responses in Taiwan Mandarin conversation. Concentric: Studies in Linguistics, 29(2), 118-156.
Wieland, M. (1995). Complimenting behavior in French/American cross-cultural dinner conversations. French Review, 68(5), 796-812.
Wolfson N. (1989). The dynamic inter-language. In M. R. Eisenstein (Ed), Social dynamics of native and nonnative variation in complimenting behavior (pp. 219-236). Boston: Springer.
Wolfson, N., & Manes, J. (1980). The compliment as a social strategy. Research on Language & Social Interaction, 13(3), 391-410.
Xiaoqiong, H., & Xianxing, J. (2008). Using film to teach EFL students English language skills. Changing English, 15(2), 235-240.
Yousefvand, Z. (2010). Study of compliment speech act realization patterns across gender in Persian. Journal of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching, 17(1), 91-112.
Yuan, Y. (2002). Compliments and compliment responses in Kunming Chinese. Pragmatics, 12(2), 183-226.
Zangoei, A., Nourmohammadi, E., & Derakhshan, A. (2014a). The effect of consciousness-raising listening prompts on the development of the speech act of apology in an Iranian EFL context. SAGE, 4(2), 1-10. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014531770.
Zangoei, A., Nourmohammadi, E., & Derakhshan, A. (2014b). A gender-based study of Iranian EFL learners’ pragmatic awareness: The role of receptive skill-based teaching. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 3(6), 42-52.
Zarei, G. R. (2011). Functional analysis of Iranian learners’ L2: Complimenting in written discourse. International Journal of Language Studies (IJLS), 5(2), 109-122.
)