The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

The Effect of the Social Status of the Complimenter on the Choice of the Compliment Response Strategies Jordanian Arabs

Received: 20/9/2005 Accepted: 9/11/2006

Sayyah Al-Ahmad*

Ph.D, Rhetoric and Linguistics, Language Center & English Department, Yarmouk University.

*

Introduction:

Holmes (1988a:485) defines compliment as “a speech act which explicitly or implicitly attributes credit to someone other than the speaker, usually the person addressed, for some 'good' (possession, characteristic, skill, etc.) which is positively valued by the speaker and the hearer”. Brown and Levinson (1978)

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صلخم اإلطراء على األردنيين العرب ردود الدراسة هذه تتحرى

استجابة وعشرون ومائة أكاديمية. ألف بيئة في لهم الموجه سبعين من جمعت مديح لعبارات البكالوريوس. مستوى في طالبا عشرة ثالث استخدموا المشاركين أن الدراسة هذه أظهرت

عشرة اثني أن لهم. وتبين الموجه المديح على للرد استراتيجية دراسات في وجدت التي لتلك مشابهة االستراتيجيات هذه من

لذلك. ضافةإغيرها. دون العربية على مقصورة وواحدة أخرى مكانة ذوي أشخاص من لموجه ا اإلطراء أن الدراسة كشفت

أكثر األرجح، على يكون، مرتبة أقل أشخاص إلى مرموقة اجتماعية المكانة في متساوين أناس بين المتبادل المديح من قبوال

في أشخاص بين المتبادل اإلطراء كان حال، أية االجتماعية. وعلى المديح. على الموافقة بعدم األرجح، على يتسم، المرتبة نفس

مؤشر هي المادح للشخص االجتماعية المكانة أن وأخيرا. تبين على الموافقة وعدم بالموافقة تتسم ردود حدوث إمكانية على جيد

المديح.Abstract

This study investigates the speech act of compliment responses used by Jordanian Arabs in an academic setting. 1120 compliment responses are collected from seventy college students. The study reveals that the participants use thirteen compliment response strategies. Twelve of these are very similar to those found in other settings, and one is Arabic-specific. Additionally, the study shows that compliments offered by status high are more likely to be accepted than those which occur among status equals. However, those exchanged among people of equal status are more likely to meet with Nonagreement responses. Finally, the status of the complimenter is found to be a good predictor of the likelihood of Agreement and Nonagreement responses.

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

define it as a positive politeness strategy which intends to praise the responder for a past or present action.

Studies on compliments and compliment responses argue that compliments and compliment responses have many different functions. First, they maintain solidarity between the complimenter and the responder (Holmes 1984). Second, they “grease the social wheels” and, consequently, function as “social lubricants” (Wolfson 1983: 89). Third, within the frame of positive and negative politeness advocated by Brown and Levinson (1978), compliments can be considered as a positive politeness strategy which can decrease the danger of a face threatening act (FTA) by “anointing” the responder’s face, by “noticing” or “attending” to the responder’s interests (Brown and Levinson 1978:108). Additionally, compliments and compliment responses may precede and, consequently, soften a criticism (Wolfson 1983: 89).

However, compliments and compliment responses can be considered as FTAs (Brown and Levinson 1978: 71-73). In some cultures, compliments and compliment responses are face-threatening to the degree that they indicate the complimenter's desire to take something belonging to the responder. This is clearly evident in cultures like the Samoan and Indonesian in New Zealand where the responder is under an obligation to give the complimenter the object s/he likes (Holmes: 1988a).

(1) Context: Pakeha woman to Samoan friend whom she is visiting.

Complimenter: What an unusual necklace. It’s beautiful.

Responder: Please take it.

The complimenter is embarrassed at being given the object he has liked. In Arab culture, we have the same kind of compliment response, but unlike the Samoan and Indonesian cultures, this form of response is a polite ritualistic expression, not a real offer of the object, and the complimenter almost certainly does not accept the object offered.

(2) Context: A Jordanian woman to her friend whom she met

Complimenter: Ma: haðihi ?al-sa:؟atu ?al-d3ami:latu!

What a beautiful watch!

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Responder: Muqaddamah.

It is presented to you.

Although the responder utters the word muqaddamah (It is presented to you), the speaker refuses the object offered because the responder rarely intends for the complimenter to accept the object. Brown and Levinson (1978:73) maintains that "compliment responses often involve self-denigration, hence, damaging the responder's positive face while a return of a compliment threatens the addressee's face".

Compliments/compliment responses have been known as action chain events (Pomerantz 1978), sequences (Wolfson, 1989b) and adjacency pairs (Schegloff and Sacks 1973). Although compliments and compliment responses have been tackled independently in literature (Holmes 1988a; Herbert 1986; Pomerantz 1978), either of them cannot be understood without bearing in mind the whole compliment elements. When the compliment is offered and the addressee responds to it, both acts serve the function of negotiating solidarity although this notion has not been clearly stated for compliment responses. According to interviews with speakers of English, and to textbooks written for learners of English as a second/foreign language, the appropriate response to a compliment is thank you. However, compliment responses in Jordanian Arabic are much more complex than saying Shukran when complimented.

In this study, I will discuss how Jordanian Arabic male and female speakers respond to compliments offered by higher and equal status male and female complimenters. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether the status of the complimenter affects the choice of the response strategies adopted by Jordanian Arabic speakers.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

This study attempts to answer the following two questions:

1- What types of response strategies do Jordanians choose to use when they receive compliments?

2- Does the social status of the complimenter have an influence on the type of the response strategy chosen by the responder?

Previous Literature on Compliment Responses:

The first study which examines compliment responses in an English speaking context is Pomerantz's (1978). She argues that, in the United States, compliment responses constitute a challenge to the responder in that they impose two conversational principles which stand in conflict. The first principle is agreeing with and/or accepting compliment, and the second principle is avoiding self-praise. This means that if responders agree with the compliment, they praise themselves and thus violate the second principle (avoid self-praise). If they reject the compliment, they violate the first principle (agreeing with and/or accepting compliment) and avoid self-praise. Both alternatives tend to threaten the social solidarity that holds between the interlocutors and constitute an interactional dilemma for the responder. Therefore, Pomerantz suggests that compliment responses could be considered as solution types to this conflict.

In addition to accepting the compliment, Pomerantz (1978: 106) suggests two possible options:

1- Evaluating shift: that is to downgrade the compliment.

2- Referent shift: that is to shift the focus and hence credit elsewhere.

The first option solves the conflict of constraints by compromising on the extent of agreement or disagreement. The second solves it by avoidance strategy. According to Pomerantz, either strategy could be used to accept or reject a compliment. Wolfson (1989a) points out that a possible solution to the conflict is to downgrade the compliment by referring to another trait of the object. In this case, the responder mitigates the force of the compliment without disagreeing with the complimenter and without praising her/himself. The works of Pomerantz (1978), Manes (1983), Wolfson (1989a), and Wolfson and Manes (1980) have

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

shed light on how and why Americans compliment, but they have not provided a quantitative analysis of compliment response types and their frequencies.

However, the studies by Holmes (1988a), Herbert (1989), Nelson, Al-Batal and Echols (1996), and Chen (1993) are helpful in providing and comparing the frequencies of certain compliment responses in English-speaking environments with those which occur in non Western context. In analyzing her New Zealand data, Holmes (1988a) groups the responses as Acceptances, Deflections/ Evasion and Rejections. 61% of these responses are categorized as acceptances, 29% as deflections, and 10% as rejections. Herbert (1989) categorizes 66% of the American responses as Agreement, 31% as Nonagreement, and 3% as Request Interpretation whereas 88% of her South African responses are classified as Agreement, 43% as Nonagreement, and 0.8% as Request Interpretation. Nelson et al (1996) classify 50% of the responses in their American data as Accept, 45% as Mitigate, and 3% as Reject while in their Syrian data, they categorize 67% of the responses as Accept, 33% as Mitigate, and 0% as Reject. Interestingly, Nelson et al's study identifies a new response strategy, Acceptance and Formula, which has not been found in previous studies, and which could be considered as Arabic-specific. This unique strategy accounts for 40% of the corpus.

Chen (1993) conducts a study in which he compares compliment responses of Americans to those made by Chinese speakers. He finds out that Chinese responses are motivated by Leech's (1983) Modesty Maxim: minimize self-praise and maximize self-dispraise. 96% of the Chinese responses are classified as Rejections of which disagreeing and denigrating account for 51%. On the other hand, responses made by Americans are governed by Leech's Agreement Maxim: maximize agreement between the complimenter and addressee and minimize disagreement between the speaker and the recipient. 39% of the American responses are classified as Acceptances, 19% as Compliment Returns, 29% as Deflections, and 13% as Rejections.

Social Status: Compliments and compliment responses occur between status equals as well as between status nonequals. Holmes (1988a) provides a distribution of compliments as to the relative status of the responder. She indicates that

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

compliments between equals are the most frequent in the New Zealand data (79%). This is congruent with Wolfson's American data. She claims that "the overwhelming majority of all compliments are given to people of the same age and status as the speaker" (Wolfson 1983:91). By the same token, compliments also take place between status unequals. Wolfson (1983: 91) maintains that "the great majority of compliments which occur in interactions between status unequals are given by the person in the higher position". In a classroom setting, the compliments usually flow from teachers to students to serve as a way of encouraging and supporting students' efforts. Compliments from higher to lower or from lower to higher status are twice as probably to relate to work performance or skill (54%) as to appearance (27%) whereas the compliments between equals are as twice to relate to appearance as to performance or skill. The compliments in the New Zealand study on appearance (57%) are over twice as frequent as those on performance or skill (25%).

Acceptance responses are likely to be most common among status nonequals and among those whose status is not being negotiated. Comparing the responses of American and South African English speakers to compliments, Herbert (1989) finds that more than one third of the compliments are accepted by Americans (36.35%) whereas acceptance is the dominant response among South African speakers (76.20%). Holmes (1988b) reports that (78.72%) of compliments occur between status equals. Regarding compliments on ability/performance, it is the higher status person who gives the compliment.

However, compliments on appearance/possession are less likely to be affected by status. Wolfson (1988: 32) argues that there are qualitative differences in the speech behavior of middle-class Americans to "intimates, status unequals, and strangers, on the one hand, and to nonintimates, status-equal friends, coworkers, and acquaintances on the other". The flow from status high to status low is observed in etiquette books "compliments are said by some to be inadmissible. But between equals, or from those of superior position to those of inferior status, compliments should not only be acceptable, but gratifying. It is pleasant to know that we are well thought of by those who hold higher positions, such as men of superior talent, or women of superior culture" (Young 1882:90). Etiquette books suggest that acceptance is the most appropriate response to compliments.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Having reviewed the literature on compliment responses in Arabic, no studies have tackled the relationship between the social status of the complimenter and the type of response strategy selected by addressees. Therefore, the present study will be the first one in Arabic which investigates the compliment response strategies used by students considered to have lower status when they respond to compliments offered by their professors considered to have higher status, and these used by students when they respond to compliments offered by their classmates considered to have equal status. Furthermore, it will examine whether there are differences in the types of response strategies exchanged between nonequals (professors and students) on the one hand, and those which occur between equals (students and their classmates) on the other.

Rationale for the Study:

Compliment responses are chosen for the following reasons. First, a remarkable body of research has been conducted on the speech act of complimenting in Western contexts (Holmes and Brown 1987; Wolfson 1981, 1983; Nelson, El Bakary and Al-Batal 1993; Manes 1983). However, less research has been done on responses to compliments. How to compliment can be as important as how to respond to compliment. But, for nonnative speakers of English studying in the United States, it is more significant to know how to respond to compliments than to compliment because Americans use compliments quite often (Wolfson 1983; Holmes and Brown 1987; Herbert 1989). Second, very little research has been done on compliment responses in English-speaking context (Pomerantz 1978; Herbert 1989; Herbert and Straight 1989). Only one study has investigated compliment responses in an Arabic-speaking country (Nelson et al 1996). Finally, while some studies examine the influence of the social status of the complimenter on the choice of the response strategies adopted by addressees in Western contexts (Herbert 1990; Smith 1985; Wolfson 1984, 1988; Holmes 1988b), no studies have been conducted on this issue in an Arabic-speaking country. Therefore, this study can be considered an important contribution to the literature on compliment responses because it is the first study to address the relationship between the complimenter’s social status and the respondent’s choice of response strategy in a Jordanian Arabic context.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Methodology:

The instrument used to collect the data is a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) designed by Chansongkrod (1994) as shown in Appendix (1). It consists of sixteen compliment items, eight of which are directed from status-high male and female professors to low-status male and female students, and another eight directed from status- equal male and female students to their classmates. In this regard, when compliment responses are exchanged between nonequals, the university professor is considered a member of a higher status while the university student is considered a member of a lower status from Jordanians' social and cultural perspectives. When the compliment responses occur between status equals, it means that the student offering the compliment is of an equal status to that responding to it.

Each discourse sequence contains a detailed description of the situation, specifying the social status of the complimenter. The 16 compliment situations manifest different abilities and skills (e.g. academic, acting, photography, cooking, playing musical instruments and speaking foreign languages). The Discourse Completion Test is adapted and translated into standard written Arabic to suit the Jordanian context. Two items of the DCT, specifically (7) and (13), are modified because they are incongruent with the social and cultural values of the Jordanian society. A pilot study is carried out to establish the validity and the reliability of the Test, and it is found to be valid and reliable (r 80).

Seventy Jordanian students participate in the study, 35 of whom are males and 35 are females. All the subjects are undergraduate students at Yarmouk University in Jordan from different faculties and departments in the university. The participants are asked to write in the blank spaces provided under each compliment in standard written Arabic, what they think to be the socially appropriate verbal responses to the compliment. Since there are more than one way to respond to compliments, the participants are requested to write down as many responses as they think appropriate. This is done to exclude the danger of limiting the scope of the participants' responses by the researcher's preconception of what the responses might be, hence, minimizing the limitations of the DCT.

After the DCTs have been collected, the responses are classified according to the different strategies adopted by the subjects, and statistical computations are Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -16-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

made on the percentage each strategy comprised of the total responses. Furthermore, the chi-square values are used to find whether there are differences in the type of the response strategies employed by status nonequals and those chosen by status equals.

Study Limitations:

According to Wolfson (1983), it is commonly argued that speech acts should be studied through the spontaneous responses of the informants in natural settings using ethnomethodology (e.g. audio-taped interviews, natural observation, etc.) which could elicit spontaneous and naturalistic responses. In this regard, I would like to say that audio-taped interviews would elicit spontaneous and naturalistic speech provided that the compliments should be given as an aside, as an utterance not connected to the formal interview. For example, the interviewer may compliment the interviewee on a skill or well done job by saying, " By the way, you really gave a good presentation to the class last night". Giving the compliment as an aside results in naturalistic responses (Nelson et al 1996).

This study seems to have the following limitations. It is very difficult to use ethnomethodology in the present study for the following reasons. Firstly, it is hard to find volunteers, especially, professors who would agree to act the role of complimenters and have their interviews recorded. Secondly, the tape recorders are likely to make the interviewees feel uncomfortable because the informants in this study may not be familiar with the situations in which they find themselves involved in a recorded sociolinguistic study about themselves, and that the tape recording would be culturally unsuitable. Finally, non-English-speaking communities lack the trained ethnographers who can elicit spontaneous responses in a naturalistic way. Bearing in mind all these restrictions, the researcher finds it very difficult to obtain quantifiable spontaneous and naturalistic data through natural observation of real situations or audio-taped interviews. Thus, he resorts to eliciting his data in an unnaturalistic context by using the DCT.

Another limitation is the generalizability of the results. The data are collected from undergraduate students representing a lower status group (students) responding to a higher status social class (professors) on the one hand, and to their counterparts on the other, in an academic setting in a Jordanian university. Since

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

the findings of this study are restricted to the kind of data obtained by using the DCT, to one kind of setting, and to one strata of the Jordanian society, we cannot claim that the results of this study can be generalized to include other academic or nonacademic groups in Jordan or in other Arabic-speaking countries.

The role of the gender as a variable in the choice of compliment responses is excluded because it is beyond the scope of this study, and the focus is mainly on the influence of the social status of the complimenter on the choice of the respondents of the compliment response strategies regardless of sex. In addition, the gender variable is in mind while conducting the research, but since it is a big and an important issue, I plan to investigate it in my next research.

Findings: The seventy participants provide a total of 1120 compliment responses, 560 (50%) of them occur between nonequals and 560 (50%) are between status equals. These responses are categorized into thirteen strategies, twelve of them resembling those identified by Herbert (1986, 1989), and one called Acceptance and Formula is very similar to that identified by Nelson et al (1996). This type of response strategy, as mentioned earlier, has been considered as the distinguishing characteristic of responses in Arabic. To the best of my knowledge, this response strategy has not been identified in any other language group studied other than the Arabic-speaking group.

The Arabic compliment responses are classified into three main categories; Agreement, Nonagreement and Request Interpretation. They are summarized in (Table 1).

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Table 1. Frequency of Compliment Responses in Arabic

Status Nonequal Status EqualTypes of response strategy No % No %AgreementAcceptance

Appreciation Token 120 21.42 111 19.83 Comment Acceptance 21 3.75 40 7.15 Praise Upgrade 14 2.50 9 1.60 Acceptance & Formula 196 35.00 133 23.75

Subtotal 351 62.68 293 52.33Nonacceptance

Acceptance History 15 2.67 11 1.96 Reassignment 43 7.68 54 9.65 Return 89 15.90 110 19.64

Subtotal 147 26.25 175 31.25Nonagreement

Scale Down 12 2.14 14 2.50 Disagreement 11 1.96 19 3.40 Qualification 6 1.07 10 1.78 Question 5 .90 9 1.60 No Acknowledgement 19 3.40 30 5.35

Subtotal 53 9.47 82 14.64Request Interpretation 9 1.60 10 1.78

Subtotal 9 1.60 10 1.78Grand Total 560 100.00 560 100.00

In their contrastive study of Arabic and American compliment responses, Nelson et al (1996) classify the response strategies in the Syrian data into two main categories (Acceptance and Mitigation) with the absence of the rejection type. They collect their American data through audiotaped interviews while the Syrian data are collected through observing participants giving and responding to compliments and then writing down what is said. The interviews are not audiotaped because the interviewees express their discomfort with the presence of tape recorders, and they consider that recording their responses would be culturally inappropriate. The researchers claim that these methods of data

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

collection result in naturalistic and spontaneous data. However, my data identifies three responses (Agreement, Nonagreement and Request Interpretation) including the rejection response which is represented by the Nonagreement category. The vast majority of responders in this study express their agreement with the compliments offered. Approximately, (89%) of these responses are offered by lower status, and (83.5%) are exchanged between status equals. Nonagreement and Request Interpretation categories have the least frequency. The following acronyms (HS, LS, ES), will be henceforth used to refer to High Status, Lower Status, and Equal Status, respectively. In order to understand the Arabic phonetic transcriptions of the Discourse Completion Test, Arabic consonants and vowels, and their corresponding phonetic transcription symbols are provided in charts (1) and (2), respectively.

Chart (1) : Arabic Consonants

Consonants Phonetic symbols Consonants Phonetic

Symbolsء ? ض dب b ط ţ

ت t ظ

ð.

ث Ө = t ع ؟ج dЗ = ž غ ġح ħ ف fخ X ق qد d ك Kذ ð = d ل Iر r م mز z ن n

س s ه hش ∫ = Š و wص ş ي y

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Chart (2): Arabic Vowels

Short Vowels Phonetic Symbols Long Vowels Phonetic Symbols

� as in (هر�ب) (a) as in (haraba) ل )) as inـــا قا (a:) as in (qa:la)

� as in (لع�ب) (i) as in (la؟iba) (سعيــد) as in ــي (i:) as in (sa؟i:d)

as in ((يركض (u) as in (yarkud)

)) as in ــــــودروس (u:) as in (duru:s)

The Jordanian Arabic compliment responses can be illustrated as follows.

I. Agreement:

A) Acceptance responses: Slightly less than two thirds (62.68%) of the Jordanian Acceptance responses take place between higher and lower status, and slightly more than half (52.33%) occur between status equals.

1. Appreciation Token: It is a verbal or nonverbal acceptance of the compliment. (21.42%) of the Jordanian Arabic responses are coded as an Appreciation Token which occurs between status unequals, and (19.83%) between status equals. This strategy is a common American response type.

(3) Context: ?anta mu:si:qa:run, wa haðihi ?al-laylatu tu∫a:riku firqati ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati ?al- mu:si:qiyyati bi؟ardin mu:si:qiyyin ?ala masraħi ?al-d3a:mi da intiha:?i ?al-ħafli, taqaddammat ?ilayka ?usta:ðatuka ?allati ؟ati. Wa ba؟kanat bayna ?al-ħudu:ri wa qa:lat laka:

You are a musician. Tonight, you and your university band perform at the auditorium. After the concert, your female professor, who is in the audience, comes up to you and says:

HS Complimenter: ħaqqan, laqad istamta ؟tu biħaflati haðhi ?al-laylati. Ka:na ?ada:?aka ra:i?؟ an.

I really enjoyed tonight’s concert. Your performance was excellent.

LS Responder: Şukran laki. Thank you.

Context: Turi:du ?an tuqaddima talaban liddira:sa:ti ?al-؟ ulya:. Wa baynama kunta fi da:?irati ?al-qubu:li wa ?al-tasd3i:li listila:mi ka∫fi ؟ ala:ma:tika, iltaqa bika ?aħadu ?aşdiqa:?ika, wa ?aθna:?i ?al-ħadi:θi ?alqa naðratan ؟ala ؟ala:ma:tika wa qa:la:

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

You are applying for graduate school. You go to the registrar's office to pick up your transcript. You run into a friend there. While you are talking with him, he takes a glance at your transcript and says:

ES Complimenter: Haqqan, ?anta ta:libun mutafawwiqun.

Hmm … you are a very good student.

ES Responder: ∫hukran d3azi:lan laka.

Thank you very much.

2. Comment Acceptance: The responder accepts the compliment force and offers a relevant comment on the appreciated topic. This response type constitutes (3.75%) of the responses offered by lower status to higher status, and (7.15%) of those occur between status equals. This strategy contrasts with the social solidarity principle advocated by (Herbert 1989, Herbert and Straight 1989, Wolfson 1989a), and with the avoiding self-praise principle suggested by Pomerantz (1978).

(4) Context: Qumta ?anta wa zumala:?i şaffika bi؟a mali ħaflati wida:؟ in li?usta:ðatika fi ?al-şaf. Wa ka:na ؟ ala kulli ţa:libin ?an yuħdira ma؟ ahu ţabaqa ?aklin ţabaxahu binafsihi. Taðawwaqat ?usta:ðatuka ta؟ a:maka wa qa:lat:

You and your classmates make a farewell party for your professor in the class. Everyone has to bring something they cook. Your professor tastes your food and says to you:

HS Complimenter:, Haða: ţa؟ a:mun laði:ðun haqqan.

Hey! This is really delicious.

LS Responder: Na؟ am, ?ana sayyidatu baytin mumta:zah.

Yes. I am really an excellent housewife.

Context: ?aşbaħta udwan fi firqati ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati ?al-masraħiyyati, wa hiyya tuqaddimu masraħiyatan kullu faşlin. Qaddamta ؟a rdan masraħiyan ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyata wa ka:na dawruka mutamayyizan. ?al-yawmu fi ?al-şaffi, taqaddamat ?ilayka şadi:qatan laka wa qa:lat:

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

You joined a university’s theater group. It organizes a play every semester. A play was put on last night and you had a leading role. Today at class, a female friend walks up to you and says:

ES Complimenter: ∫a:hadtu ?al-masraħiyyata ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyata, wa ka:na tamθi:laka ra:?i؟ an. I saw the play last night. You were terrific.

ES Responder: Na؟am ka:na tamθi:li mumta:zan.Yes, I did a great job.

3. Praise Upgrade: The responder accepts the compliment and assures that the compliment force is not sufficient. The frequency of this response type is (2.50%) between status nonequals and (1.60%) between status equals.

(5) Context: Katabta baħθan ؟ ilmiyyan liiħda ?al-masa:qa:ti ?allati darastaha. Wa nu∫ira haða ?al-baħθu fi mad3allatin ؟ ilmiyyatin. ?al-yawmu qa:balta ?usta:ðan qara?a? baħðaka wa qa:l laka:You wrote an article for one of your classes. Later, it was published in a journal. Today, you meet a professor who has read your article. He says to you:

HS Complimenter: Ka:na baħðuka mumtazan, Wa ?ana istamta؟ tu biqra:?atihi.

Your article is interesting. I really like it.

LS Responder: Baðaltu d3uhdan wa waqtan kaθi:ran wa ?ana ?abħaθu fi ?al-maktabati ħatta xarad3a bihaða ?al-∫akli.I spent a lot of time and effort searching in the library to make it look like that.

Context: ?aşbaħta udwan fi firqati ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati ?al-masraħiyyati, wa hiyya tuqaddimu masraħiyatan kullu faşlin. Qaddamta ؟ ardan masraħiyan ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyata, wa ka:na dawruka mutamayyizan. ?al-yawmu fi ?al-şaffi, taqaddamat ?ilayka şadi:qatan laka wa qa:lat: You joined a university’s theater group. It organizes a play every semester. A play was put on last night and you had a leading role. Today at class, a female friend walks up to you and says:

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

ES Complimenter: ∫a:hadtu ?al-masraħiyyata ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyata, wa ka:na tamθi:laka ra:?i؟ an.I saw the play last night. You were terrific.

ES Responder: Baðaltu d3uhdan wa waqtan kaθi:ran fi ?al-tadri:bi ؟ ala haðihi ?al-masraħiyyah. I spent a lot of effort and time on rehearsing for this play.

4. Acceptance and Formula: It is the highest recurring response type in the Jordanian data. A slightly higher than the third (35%) of the total responses occur between nonequals, and (23.75%) of those between status equals. This response type contains an acceptance of the compliment followed by a particular utterance that is popular in Arabic, and used when responding to a special kind of compliment. This type serves to perform a certain social function.

(6) Context: Darasta masa:qa taşwi:rin fi haða ?al-faşli. Wa ka:na min mutaţallaba:ti haða: ?al-masa:qi ?an tu؟ rada kullu şu:ratin ?ama:ma ?al-ţulla:bi. Wa ؟ indama:؟ aradta ?al-şu:rata ?al-?u:la, tabayyana ?anna ?usta:ðaka ?u؟ d3iba biha kaθi:ran faqa:la:You enrolled in a photography class this semester. It is a requirement that every picture be reviewed in class. When you show your first picture to the class, your professor seems to like it a lot. He says:

HS Complimenter: Haðihi şu:ratun d3ami:latun. ?a؟ taqidu bi?anna ؟ indaka mawhibatan bi ?al-taşwi:ri.This is a beautiful photo. I think you have a gift in photography.

LS Responder: Haða ?al-nad3a:ħu d3a:?a? bi fadli ALLAH, wa likulli mud3tahidin naşi:b.This success comes from ALLAH (GOD). He who works hard will have a share of success.

Context: Darasta masa:qa rasmin haða: ?al-faşli. Wa fi niha:yati, ?al-faşli, ؟ uridat kullu rusu:ma:ti ?al-ţulla:bi fi ?al-ma؟ radi. Ħa:zat lawħa:tuka ؟ ala ihtima:mi zuwwa:ri ?al-ma؟ rad. Taqaddamat ?ilayka iħda şadi:qa:tuka lituħanni?aka faqa:lat:

Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -24-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

You enrolled in a painting class this semester. When the lessons were over, the students’ works are displayed at an exhibition. Your paintings get a lot of attention. A friend comes over to greet you and she says:

ES Complimenter: Ka:nat lawħa:tuka ?al-?afdal wal ?a d3mal fi haða: ?al-ma؟ rad. Your paintings are the most outstanding ones in this exhibition.

ES Responder: ؟uyu:nik hunna ?al-?ad3mal, wa ?al- d3ama:lu fi ؟ uyu:ni ?aşħa:bihi.Your eyes are more beautiful and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

B) Nonacceptance responses: These strategies are employed in (26.25%) of the data by status nonequals, and in (31.25%) by status equals.

1. Comment History: The responder offers impersonal comments on the object complimented. In other words, the force of the compliment is shifted from the responder. The use of this strategy accounts for (2.67%) of the responses which occur between nonequlas and (1.96%) of those between equals.

(7) Context: Katabta baħθan ؟ ilmiyyan liiħda ?al-masa:qa:ti ?allati darastaha:. Wa nu∫ira haða ?al-baħθu fi mad3allatin ؟ ilmiyyatin. ?al-yawmu qa:balta ?usta:ðan qara?a? baħðaka, wa qa:l laka:You wrote an article for one of your classes. Later, it was published in a journal. Today, you meet a professor who has read your article. He says to you:

HS Complimenter: Ka:na baħθuka mumta:zan, wa ?ana: istamta؟ tu biqira:?atihi.Your article is interesting. I really like it.

LS Responder: Ka:na lilmuţa:la؟ ati dawran muhimman fi tanmiyyati fikri. Extensive reading plays an important role in broadening thought.

Context: ?anta tataħaduθu ?al-ind3ili:ziyyati bitala:qatin. ?al-yawmu huna:ka zuwwarun min ?amerika fi qismika ?al-?aka:di:mi. Wa ţuliba minka ?an taku:na mudi:fahum, wa kanu: sa؟ i:di:na bihaðihi ?al-ziya:rati. Wa b ؟da ?an ġa:dara ?al-duyu:fu, Taqaddama ?ilayka şadi:qun laka wa qa:la:

Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -25-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

You can speak English very fluently. Today, there are visitors from the US in your department. You are assigned to be their host and they are very pleased with the visit. After the visitors have left, a male friend says to you:

ES Complimenter: ?anta tatakalamu ?al- ind3ili:ziyyata biţala:qatin. Kullu ∫axşin ka:na mu ؟ d3aban biţala:qatika. Your English is very good. Everyone was impressed.

ES Responder: Ka:na liqira:?ati ?al-mad3alla:ti wa ?al-d3ara:?idi ?al-ind3ili:ziyyati dawran bitaħassuni luġati.Reading English magazines and newspapers helps.In the two compliment responses in (7), the addressee agrees with the force of the compliment offered by the first speaker, but s/he does not explicitly accept the verbal gift. Agreement with the semantic force is implicitly expressed by shifting the complimentary force from the responder, and it is attributed to external factors such as extensive reading and reading English newspapers.

2. Reassignment: The responder agrees with the compliment assertion, but the complimentary force is shifted to a third person. 43 or (7.68%) of the status nonequals and 54 or (9.65%) of the status equals use this response strategy.

(8) Context: Qumta ?anta wa zumala:?i şaffika bi؟amali ħaflati wida:؟ in li?usta:ðatika fi ?al-şaf. Wa ka:na ؟ ala kulli ţa:libin ?an yuħdira ma؟ ahu ţabaqa ?aklin ţabaxahu binafsihi. Taðawwaqat ?usta:ðatuka ta؟ a:maka wa qa:lat: You and your classmates make a farewell party for your professor in the class. Everyone has to bring something they cook. Your professor tastes your food and says to you:

HS Complimenter: Haða: ţa؟ a:mun laði:ðun haqqan.Hey! This is really delicious.

LS Responder: ؟alayka ?an ta∫kura ummi fahiyya ?allati tabaxathu.You should thank my mother who cooked it.

Context: Turi:du ?an tuqaddima talaban liddira:sa:ti ?al-؟ ulya:. Wa baynama kunta fi da:?irati ?al-qubu:li wa ?al-tasd3i:li listila:mi ka∫fi ؟ ala:ma:tika,

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

iltaqa bika ?aħadu ?aşdiqa:?ika, wa ?aθna:?a ?al-ħadi:θi ?alqa naðratan ؟ala ؟ala:ma:tika wa qa:la:You are applying for graduate school. You go to the registrar’s office to pick up a transcript. You run into a friend there. While you are talking with him, he takes a glance at your transcript and says:

ES Complimenter: Haqqan, ?anta ta:libun mutafawwiqun.Hmm.. you’re a very good student.

ES Responder: ?al-masa:qa:tu hiyya ?allati ka:nat sahlatan haða: ?al-fasl.The courses were very easy this semester.In situation (8), the responders agree with the compliment response, but they don't accept it and express their nonacceptance by shifting the complimentary force to a third party which is the mother or the easiness of the course.

3. Return: The praise is returned to the complimenter. The frequency of Compliment Return exchanges in Jordanian data is (15.90%) between status unequals, and (19.64%) between equals.

(9) Context: ?al-yawmu ka:na dawruka li?i؟ ta:?i ?al-ţulla:bi darsan bistixda:mi şuwarin d3ami:latin. Yabdu ?anna ?al?usta:ða ?u؟ d3iba bi?a:da:?ika. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-muħa:darati qa:la laka:You have a class presentation today. You have a lot of nice graphics to show. The professor seems to liked your performance a lot. After class, he says to you:

HS Complimenter: Haqqan, ?a؟ d3abani ?a:da:?aka wa ka:na mumti؟ an.I really like your presentation. It was enjoyable.

LS Responder: Islu:bu ؟ ardika lilmuħa:darati ka:na ða: fa:?idatin kabi:ratin li:.

Your method of presenting the lecture was of a great benefit to me.

Context: ħasalta ؟ ala ؟ ala:ma:tin ka:milatin fi ?al faşli ?al-munşarimi. ?al-yawmu huwa ?al-yawmu ?al-?awwalu fi ?al-faşli ?al-d3adi:di. Qabalta şadi:qan laka fi ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati fa qa:la laka:You got straight A’s last semester. Today is the first day of a new semester. You meet a friend at school and he says to you:

Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -27-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

ES Complimenter Sami؟ utu ?annaka ħaşalta ؟ ala ؟ ala:ma:tin ka:milatin fi ?al-faşli ?al-munşarimi. Muba:rakun haða ?al-ind3a:zi.I heard you got straight A’s last semester. Good job.

ES Responder: ?amalu ? an taħsula ؟ ala nati:d3atin d3ayyidatin kallati ħaşaltu .:alayha؟I hope you get as good as I did.Unlike Comment Acceptance, Compliment Return reinforces the social solidarity between the interlocutors and strengthens their relationships.

II. Nonagreement:

This response category constitutes (9.47%) of the responses exchanged between nonequals, and (14.64%) of those between equals.

1. Scale Down: The responder disagrees with the force of the compliment, downgrading the value of the object. This response type accounts for 12 (2.14%) of the responses which occur between status nonequals, and 14 (2.50%) of those between status equals.

(10) Context: ħasalta ?ala bi؟ thatin dira:siyyatin lilxa:rid3. wa ?al-yawmu ka:na yawmu taxarud3ika. Wa ba؟da intiha:?i ?al-iħtifa:li taqaddamat ?ilayka ?usta:ðatuka lituhani?aka faqa:lat:You have just won a scholarship to study abroad. Today is the commencement day and after the ceremony, a professor comes up to congratulate you and she says:

HS Complimenter: ?anta ţa:libun mud3tahidun wa tastaħiqu haðihi ?al-bi؟ θah.You are an excellent student and you deserve this scholarship.

LS Responder: Huna:ka a:xaru:n miθli wa ħatta ?afdala minni.There are others like me and even better than I.

Context: ħasalta ؟ ala ؟ ala:ma:tin ka:milatin fi ?al faşli ?al-munşarimi. ?al-yawmu huwa ?al-yawmu ?al-?awwalu fi ?al-faşli ?al-d3adi:di. Qabalta şadi:qan laka fi ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati fa qa:la laka:

You got straight A’s last semester. Today is the first day of a new semester. You meet a friend at school and he says to you:

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

ES Complimenter: Sami؟ utu ?annaka ħaşalta ؟ ala ؟ ala:ma:tin ka:milatin fi ?al-faşli ?al-munşarimi. Muba:rakun haða: ?al-ind3a:z.I hear you got straight A’s last semester. Good job.

ES Responder: Uqsimu biLLAHi ?annaha ∫a:?i ؟a:t.I swear by ALLAH (God) it is all rumors.

2. Disagreement: The responder assures that the complimented object does not deserve praise implying that the complimenter is mistaken in his praise. This response strategy occurs in 11 (1.96%) of the exchanges between nonequals, and in 19 (3.40%) of those between equals.

(11) Context: ðahabta ?ila ?al-maktabati litadrusa ؟ ala ?imtiħa:nin ma:. Wa baynama: kunta tadrusu, marrat ?usta:ðatun laka bilşudfati min d3a:nibika. Tawaqqafat qali:lan litataħadaθa ma؟ aka. Wa ؟ indama: ?adrakat ?annaka munhamikun fi ?al-dira:sati, qa:lat laka:You go to a library to study for an exam. As you are studying, a professor happens to walk by. So she stops and talks to you for a while. When she notices that you’re studying, she says to you:

HS Complimenter: ?anta ţa:libun mud3tahidun. You’re working really hard.

LS Responder: ?ana: la: ?uri:du ?an tamdaħi:ni.I do not want you to praise me.

Context: Ka:na ؟ indaka imtiħa:nan ?al-?usbu:؟ i ?al-ma:di. Wa ?al-yawmu ?axbaraka ?al-?usta:ðu bi?annaka ħasalta ?ala ?a؟ la ؟ ala:matin fi ?al-şaffi. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-muħa:darati taqaddamat ?ilayka iħda zami:la:tika wa qa:lat:You had a test last week. Today the professor announced that you got the highest score in the class. After class, a classmate comes over to you and says:

ES Complimenter: ?anta qumta bi؟ amalin ra:?i؟ in bilraġmi min şu؟ u:bati ?al-imtiħa:ni.You did really well. The test was very tough.

ES Responder: Lam yakun ?al-imtiħa:nu sa؟ ban.Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -29-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

The test was not difficult.

3. Qualification: The responder merely qualifies the original assertion usually with but, well, etc. This response type accounts for (1.07%) of the responses which occur between nonequals, and (1.78%) of those between equals.

(12) Context: Hasalta ?ala d3a:?izatin min qismika ?al-?aka:di:mi litafawwuqika ?al-dira:si. ?al-yawmu, taqaddama ?ilayka ?usta:ðuka wa ħayya:ka qa:?ilan:You got an award from your department for excellent academic performance. Today at school, your male professor comes over to greet you and says:

HS Complimenter: ?anta ţa:libun ðakiyyun d3iddan. Wa kullu ∫axsin ka:na muta?akkidan bi?annaka satafu:zu bi haðihi ?al-d3a:?izati.You’re so smart. Everyone was sure you were going to get it.

LS Responder: ∫ukran laka, wa lakinna haða: ħasala bifadli tafa:ni:ka wa ta؟ a:wunika.Thank you, but it is the result of your hard work and cooperation.

Context: ?anta ؟ udwun fi fari:qi ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati lissiba:ħati. ?al-yawmu ħasalta ?ala ?al-markizi ?al-?awwali fi ?al-buţu:lati. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ħafli tasli:mi ?al-d3awa:?izi, taqaddama ?ilayka şadi:qun laka wa hanna?aka ؟ ala haða: ?al-fawzi, θumma qa:la:You are on the university swimming team. Today, you won first place in the competition. After an awards ceremony, a male friend congratulates you and he says:

ES Complimenter: Ka:na ?a:da:?aka mutmayyizan, wa ?ana: kuntu ? ؟rifu bi?annaka satafu:z.You’re so good. I know you were going to win.

ES Responder: ∫ukran laka, wa lakinna huna:ka ?una:s yasbaħu:na ?afdala minni.Thank you, but there are people who are better swimmers than me.

4. Question: The responder questions the sincerity of the compliment. The frequency of this strategy is 5 (0.90%) of the responses which occur between nonequlas, and 9 (1.60%) of those between equals.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

(13) Context: Hasalta ?ala d3a:?izatin min qismika ?al-aka:dimi litafawwuqika ?a l-dira:si. ?al-yawmu, taqaddama ?ilayka ?usta:ðuka wa ħayya:ka qa:?ilan:You got an award from your department for excellent academic performance. Today at school, your male professor comes over to greet you and says:

HS Complimenter: ?anta ţa:libun ðakiyyun d3iddan. Wa kullu ∫axsin ka:na muta?akkidan bi?annaka satafu:zu bi haðihi ?al-d3a:?izati.You’re so smart. Everyone was sure you were going to get it.

LS Responder: Hal ?ana: bihaða: ?al-ðaka:?i Hal ?ana: ?astaħiqu haðhi ?al-d3a:?izati?Am I that smart? Do I deserve this award?

Context: Ka:na ؟ indaka imtiħa:nan ?al-?usbu:؟ i ?al-ma:di. Wa ?al-yawmu ?axbaraka ?al-?usta:ðu bi?annaka ħasalta ?ala ?a؟ la ؟ ala:matin fi ?al-şaffi. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-muħa:darati, taqaddamat ?ilayka iħda zami:latika wa qa:lat:You had a test last week. Today the professor announced that you got the highest score in the class. After class, a classmate comes over to you and she says:

ES Complimenter: ?anta qumta bi؟ amalin ra:?i؟ in bilraġmi min şou؟ u:bati ?al-mtiħa:ni.You did really well. The test was very tough.

ES Responder: hal ?anti d3a:datum fi:ma: taqu:li:na. Lam ?akun ?atawaqqa؟ u bi?anna ?a:da:?i sayaku:nu ra:?i؟ an.Are you serious? I did not expect to do well.

5. No Acknowledgement: The responder pretends that he has not heard the compliment and responds either with an irrelevant comment or provides no response. This response type takes place in (3.40%) of the responses offered by lower to the higher status, and in (5.35%) exchanged between status equals.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

(14) Context: ħasalta ?ala bi؟ thatin dira:siyyatin lilxa:rid3. Wa ?al-yawmu ka:na yawmu taxarud3ika. Wa ba؟da intiha:?i ?al-iħtifa:li taqaddamat ?ilayka ?usta:ðatuka lituhani?aka faqa:lat:You have just won a scholarship to study abroad. Today is the commencement day and after theceremony, a professor comes up to congratulate you and she says:

HS Complimenter: ?anta ţa:libun mud3tahidun wa tastaħiqu haðihi ?al-bi؟ θah.You are an excellent student and you deserve this scholarship

LS Responder: taxayyali haða: ?al-wad؟.Just imagine this situation.

Context: ðahabta ?anta wa zumala:?ika fi ?al-şaffi fi riħlatin ?ila ?al-؟ aqabah. Wa fi ?al-ţari:qi, ?amsaka ∫axsun ma: qi:ta:anr, wa bada?a ya؟ zifu, wa ţalaba minka ?an tuġanni. Wa ba؟ da ?an ?akmalta ?al-ġina:?i, şaffaqa laka kullu zumala:?ika. Şadi:qatun laka qa:lat wa hiyya tabtasimu: You and your classmates go on a trip to Aqaba. On the way, somebody grabs a guitar and asks you to sing. After the singing, everybody gives you a big round of applause. A female friend smiles at you and she says:

ES Complimenter: Lam ?akun ?a؟ rif bi?anna şawtuka d3ami:lun ?ila haðhi ?al-darad3ah.I didn’t know you could sing so well.

ES Responder: Da؟ i:na naltaqitu şu:ratan sawiyyan, wa rubbama: ?aku:nu fanna:nan ma∫hu:ran yawman ma:.Let's take a picture together and one day I could be a celebrity.

III. Request Interpretation:

This response strategy is not considered a compliment response per se since the responder does not view the previous speech act as a compliment. The responder perceives the compliments as a request rather than a compliment. Request interpretation accounts for (1.60%) of the responses which occur between nonequals, and (1.78%) of those between equals.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

(15) Context: Qumta ?anta wa zumala:?i şaffika bi؟ amali ħaflati wida:؟ in li?usta:ðatika fi ?al-şaf. Wa ka:na ؟ ala kulli ţa:libin ?an yuħdira ma؟ ahu ţabaqa ?aklin ţabaxahu binafsihi. Taðawwaqat ?usta:ðatuka ţa؟ a:maka wa qa:lat: You and your classmates make a farewell party for your professor in the class. Everyone has to bring something they cooked. Your professor tastes your food and she says to you:

HS Comlimenter: Haða: ţa؟ a:mun laði:ðun haqqan.Hey! This is really delicious.

LS Responder: Ma: ra?yuki bi?an ?a؟ mala ţabbaxan laki.What do you think of having me your cook?

Context: Darasta masa:qa taşwi:rin fi haða: ?al-faşli. Wa ka:na min mutaţallaba:ti haða: ?al-masa:qi ?an tu؟ rada kullu şu:ratin ?ama:ma ?al-ţulla:bi. Wa ؟ indama: ؟aradta ?al-su:rata ?al-?u:la, tabayyana ?anna ?usta:ðaka ?u؟ d3iba biha: kaθi:ran faqa:la:You enrolled in a photography class this semester. It is a requirement that every picture be reviewed in class. When you show your first picture to the class, your professor seems to like it a lot. He says:

ES Complimenter: Haðihi şu:ratun d3ami:latun. ?a؟ taqidu bi?anna ؟ indaka mawhibatan bi ?altaşwi:ri.This is a beautiful photo. I think you have a gift in photography.

ES Responder: ?aturi:da minni ?an ?altaqita laka şu:rah?You want me to take a photo for you?

The highest percentage of the occurrence of response strategies is located in the Agreement category which includes both Acceptance and Nonacceptance types. In the Nonacceptance response, the compliment recipient agrees with the force of the compliment offered by the complimenter, but s/he does not explicitly accept the praise. The complimentary force is shifted from the responder, but still the recipient implicitly agrees with the semantic force. Responses such as Comment History, Compliment Return and Reassignment are obviously agreements and the responder implicitly agrees with the semantic force of the compliment.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

The Relationship between the Social Status of the Complimenter and the Addressee's Choice of Response Strategies: The investigation of 1120 compliment responses in the current study shows that there are significant differences in the structuring of compliment responses that are based on the status of participants. The broad category of Agreement which includes both Acceptance and Nonacceptance responses, compared to other response strategies, has the highest frequency of occurrence between status nonequals (89%) as well as between status equals (83.5%). In Nonacceptance Agreement, the compliment responder agrees with the force of the compliment offered by the complimenter, but s/he does not explicitly accept the verbal gift. Taking into account the two broad subcategories of Agreements (Acceptance and Nonacceptance), we can say that there are statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the Agreement responses which take place between status nonequals, and those which occur between status equals (see Table 2). Lower status addressees are generally more likely to agree with compliments offered by status high. This is consistent with the concept that Agreement responses are the most common among status nonequals (Herbert 1990). The status of the complimenter is a good predictor of the likelihood of these Agreement responses.

Table (2) : Agreement (Acceptance and Nonacceptance) Responses

By status of interactants HS - LS ES - ES

498/560 (89%)

468/560 (83.5%)

X ² = 6.059; p < 0.05

Within the broad category of Acceptance Agreement, the findings show significant differences in the Comment Acceptance responses (p < 0. 05) as well as in the Acceptance and Formula responses (p < 0.05) which occur between status equals and those between nonequals. There is a high incidence of Comment Acceptance responses to compliments offered by status high (see table 3). Compliments offered by status high are more likely to be accepted than those which occur between status equals. Furthermore, Acceptance and Formula responses occur more frequently between status nonequlas (see table 4). Compliments offered by status high are more likely to be accepted than those offered by status equals. This finding is in congruence with the notion that Al-Manarah , Vol. 13 , No. 7 , 2007 . -34-

The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Acceptances are the most common among status nonequals. In this regard, students use this type of response strategy to show more respect and appreciation to their professors as a way of reinforcing social solidarity. The status of the complimenter is found to be a better predictor of the likelihood of the frequent occurrence of these two response strategies. However, the other two subtypes responses (Appreciation Token and Praise upgrade) which occur between equals and between nonequals reveal no significant differences (see tables 5 and 6).

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Table (3) Comment Acceptance ResponsesBy status of interactants HS - LS ES - ES

40/560 (7.15%)

21/560 (3.75%)

X² = 4.800; p < 0.05Table (4) Acceptance and Formula Responses

By status of interactantsHS – LS ES – ES196/560 (35%)

133/560 (23.75%)

X² = 11.655; p < 0.05Table (5) Appreciation Token Responses

HS - LS ES – ES120/560

(21.42%)111/560

(19.83%)X² =.520; p > 0.05

Table (6) Praise Upgrade ResponsesBy status of interactants HS – LS ES - ES

14/560 (2.50%)

9/560 (1.60%)

X² = 1.000; p > 0.05

Nonagreement responses occur in approximately (9.45%) of the compliment exchanged between status nonequlas and in (14.65%) of those between status equals. In this type, the responder avoids agreeing with the semantic content of the compliment. From the present data, we can notice that there are statistically significant differences in the Nonagreement responses which occur between equals and those between nonequals (p < 0.05). The responses which occur between status equals reveal more nonagreement than those which occur between nonequlas (see table 7). The status of the complimenter is a good predictor of the likelihood of these Nonagreement responses.

As for the three subtypes of Nonagreement (Scale Down, Disagreement, Qualification), the semantic component of the compliment is attacked and confirmed as false. Regarding the other two subcategories of Nonagreement, the responder questions either the appropriateness of the compliment in the No Acknowledgement responses, or its sincerity in the Questions counterparts. No Acknowledgement responses are used more frequently than the Question responses by both status equals (3.40%) and nonequals (5.35%). However, both

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

types of responses uncover no significant differences in their occurrence either between status equals or nonequals (see table 8 and 9).

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Table (7) Nonagreement ResponsesBy status of the interactants HS – LS ES - ES

53/560 (9.47%)

83/560 (14.64%)

X² = 6.737; p < 0.05Table (8) No Acknowledgement Responses

By status of the interactants HS - LS ES - ES19/560

(3.40%)30/560

(5.35%)X² = 3.200; p > 0.05

Table (9) Question ResponsesBy status of the interactants HS - LS ES - ES

5/560 (0.90%)

9/560 (1.60%)

X² = 1.143; p > 0.05

The Request Interpretation category, according to Herbert (1989), is considered as something which does not belong to either Agreement or Nonagreement category. It is rather viewed as an unrelated speech act in which the responder acts as if the compliment were something other than a compliment. This strategy is more or less equally used by both status equals (1.60%) and nonequals (1.78%). Although the differences in the frequency of occurrence are not statistically significant, this type of response serves as a strategy to avoid the complimentary force of the act (see table 10).

Table (10) Request Interpretation ResponsesBy status of interactants HS - LS ES - ES

9/560 (1.60%)

10/560 (1.78%)

X² =.091; p > 0.05

Conclusion: Very little attention has been paid to compliments and compliment responses in the Arabic academic context. Surprisingly, no single study has been conducted on the impact of the social status of the complimenter on the responder's choice of the response strategy. This study is intended to investigate this speech act to see whether compliment responses in Arabic are similar to those found in non-Arabic settings, and whether there are significant relationships between the status of the

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complimenter and the kind of response strategy chosen by the recipients. The data for this study was obtained by a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) given to undergraduate students at Yarmouk University to complete. The data analysis uncovered twelve compliment response strategies. Appreciation Token, Comment Acceptance, Praise Upgrade, Comment History, Reassignment, Return, Scale Down, Disagreement, Qualification, Question, No Acknowledgement and Request Interpretation. These response types are very similar to those identified in previous studies conducted by Herbert (1986, 1989), Chen (1993), Golato (2002), etc. Having reviewed the literature on the speech act of compliment responses, it is clear that most of the compliment responses identified in these studies are similar across cultures. The data analysis of the present study shows similar results. It seems that compliment responses are geared toward universality.

Yet, one more compliment response type has been identified in this study; it is Acceptance and Formula which could be considered as Arabic particular (Nelson et al, 1996), and it distinguishes Arabic responses from such responses occurring in other environments.

Moreover, the data analysis reveals that compliments offered by status high are more likely to be accepted than those exchanged among status equals. This may be attributed to the cultural social values which emphasize respect and appreciation for those who are of higher status. On the other hand, Nonagreement responses occur more frequently among status equals than those among status nonequals. Status of the complimenter is a good predictor of the likelihood of the occurrence of the Agreement and Nonagreement responses.

References:Brown, Penelope, and Levinson, Stephen. Universals in language

use: Politeness,. phenomena. In E. Goody (Ed.), Questions and politeness: Strategies in social interaction (pp. 56-289).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978.

Brown, Penelope, and Levinson, Stephen. Politeness: Some universals in language use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

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Chen, Rong. Responding to compliments: A contrastive study of politeness strategies between American English and Chinese speakers. Journal of Pragmatics 20, 49-75, 1993.

Golato, Andrea. German compliment responses. Journal of Pragmatics 34, 547-571, 2002.

Herbert, Robert K. Say "thank you"- or something. American Speech 61, 76-88, 1986.

Herbert, Robert K. The ethnography of English compliment responses: A contrastive sketch. In W. Oleksy (Ed.), Contrastive pragmatics (pp. 3-35). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1989.

Herbert, Robert K. Sex-based differences in compliment behavior. Language in Society, 19, 201-224, 1990.

Herbert, Robert K, and Straight, Stephen. Compliment rejection vs. compliment avoidance. Language and Communication 9, 35-47, 1989.

Holmes, Janet. Modifying illocutionary force. Journal of Pragmatics 8, 345-365, 1984.

Holmes, Janet. Compliment and compliment responses in New Zealand English. Anthropological Linguistics 28, 485-508, 1988a.

Holmes, Janet. Paying compliments: A sex-preferential positive politeness strategy. Journal of Pragmatics 12, 445-465, 1988b.

Holmes, J, and Brown, D. Teachers and students learning about compliments. TESOL Quarterly 21, 523-546, 1987.

Leech, Geoffrey N. Principles of pragmatics. London: Longman, 1983.

Manes, Joan. Compliments: A mirror of cultural values. In N. Wolfson and E. Judd (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language acquisition (pp. 96-102). Rowley, MA: Newbury House, 1983.

Nelson, Gayle L., ElBakary, Waguida, and Al-Batal Mahmud. Egtptians and American compliments: A cross-cultural study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 17, 293-313, 1993.

Nelson, Gayle L., Al-Batal, Mahmud, and Echols, Erin. Arabic and English compliment responses: Potential for pragmatic failure. Applied Linguistics 17, 411-432, 1996.

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The Effect of the Social Status ……..........……...…………………..Sayyah Al-Ahmad

Pomerantz, Anita. Compliment responses: Notes on cooperation of multiple constraints. In J. Schenkein (Ed.), Studies in the organization of conversational interaction (pp. 79-112). New York: Academic Press, 1978.

Schegloff, E, and Sacks, H. Opening up closing. Semiotica 8, 289-327, 1973.Smith, P. Language, the sexes and society. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1985.

Wolfson, Nessa. Invitations, compliments and the competence of native speakers. International Journal of Psycholinguistics 8, 7-22, 1981.

Wolfson, Nessa. An empirically based analysis of compliments in American English. In N. Wolfson and E. Judd (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language acquisition (pp.82-95). Rowley, MA: Newbury House, 1983.

Wolfson, Nessa. Pretty is as pretty does: A speech act view of sex roles. Applied Linguistics 5, 236-244, 1984.

Wolfson, Nessa. The bulge: A theory of speech behavior ands social distance. In J. Fine (Ed.), Second language discourse: A textbook of current research (pp. 21-38). Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1988.

Wolfson, Nessa. Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL. New York: Newbury House, 1989a.

Wolfson, Nessa x. The social dynamics of native and nonnative variation in complimenting behavior. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics 5, (1), 11-33, 1989a.

Young, H. Our department: The manner, conduct and dress of the most refined society. Springfield, MA: W. C. King, 1882.

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APPENDIX 1Discourse Completion Test

Sex:-------------------------

Directions: Tahdifu haðihi ?al-dira:satu ?ila baya:ni kayfiyyati ?istid3a:bati ∫axsin ma: sawa:?an ?aka:na ðakaran ?am unθa limadi:ħin yuwad3d3ahu min zami:lin ?aw usta:ðin nati:d3ata ?al-qiya:mi bi؟amalin ma: ħa:za ؟ala i؟d3a:bi ?al-∫axşi ?al-ma:diħi. Tatakawwanu haðihi ?al-istiba:natu min (16) sitata ؟a∫ara faqratan. ?iqra? haðihi ?al-istiba:nata bi؟ ina:yatin wa min θamma ?a d3ib ؟ala kulli ħa:latin bi?awwali ma: yaxţuru biba:liaka. Laysat huna:ka ?ad3wibatun şaħi:ħatun ?aw ?ad3wibatun xa:ţi?atun.

Directions: This study is intended to show how a person whether male or female responds to compliments directed to him from a professor or a colleague as a result of having done a certain thing favored by the complimenter. This test consists of sixteen compliment situations. Read the situations carefully and then respond to each at a time. Please write the first thing that comes to your mind. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. Hasalta ?ala d3a:?izatin min qismika ?al-?aka:di:mi litafawwuqika ?a l-dira:si. ?al-yawmu, taqaddama ?ilayka ?usta:ðuka wa ħayya:ka qa:?ilan:You got an award from your department for excellent academic performance. Today at school, your male professor comes over to greet you and he says:?al-usta:ð: ?anta ţa:libun ðakiyyun d3iddan. Wa kullu ∫axsin ka:na muta?akkidan bi?annaka satafu:zu bi haðihi ?al-d3a:?izati.

Professor: You’re so smart. Everyone was sure you were going to get it.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond:____________________________________________.

2. ħasalta ?ala bi؟ thatin dira:siyyatin lilxa:rid3. Wa ?al-yawmu ka:na yawmu taxarud3ika. Wa ba؟da intiha:?i ?al-iħtifa:li, taqaddamat ?ilayka ?usta:ðatuka lituhani?aka faqa:lat:You have just won a scholarship to study abroad. Today is commencement day and after the ceremony, a professor comes up to congratulate you and she says:

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?al-usta:ðah: ?anta ţa:libun mud3tahidun wa tastaħiqu haðihi ?al-bi؟ θah.

Professor:You are an excellent student and you deserve this scholarship..

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond:____________________________________________.

3. Turi:du ?an tuqaddima talaban liddira:sa:ti ?al-؟ ulya:. Wa baynama kunta fi da:?irati ?al-qubu:li wa ?al-tasd3i:li listila:mi ka∫fi ؟ ala:ma:tika, iltaqa bika ?aħadu ?aşdiqa:?ika, wa ?aθna:?a ?al-ħadi:θi, ?alqa naðratan ؟ala ؟ala:ma:tika wa qa:la:You are applying for graduate school. You go to the registrar’s office to pick up a transcript. You run into a friend there. While you are talking with him, he takes a glance at your transcript and says:?al-şadi:q: Haqqan, ?anta ta:libun mutafawwiqun.Friend: Hmm.. you’re a very good student.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

4. ?al-yawmu ka:na dawruka li?i؟ ta:?i ?al-ţulla:bi darsan bistixda:mi şuwarin d3ami:latin. Yabdu ?anna ?al?usta:ða ?u؟ d3iba bi?a:da:?ika. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-muħa:darati qa:la laka:You have a class presentation today. You have a lot of nice graphics to show. The professor seems to like your performance a lot. After class, he says to you:?al—usta:ð: Haqqan, ?a؟ d3abani ?a:da:?uka wa ka:na mumti؟ an.Professor: I really like your presentation. It was enjoyable.

Bima:ða: tarudu: ____________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

5. ħasalta ؟ ala ؟ ala:ma:tin ka:milatin fi ?al faşli ?al-munşarimi. ?al-yawmu huwa ?al-yawmu ?al-?awwalu fi ?al-faşli ?al-d3adi:di. Qabalta şadi:qan laka fi ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati fa qa:la laka:You got straight A’s last semester. Today is the first day of a new semester.

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You meet a friend at school and he says to you:

?al-şadi:q: Sami؟ utu ?nnaka ħaşalta ؟ala ؟alamatin kamilatin fi ?lfaşli ?lmunşarimi. Moba:rakun haða ?lind3az.Friend: I heard you got straight A’s last semester. Good job.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

6. Darasta masa:qa rasmin haða ?al-faşli. Wa fi niha:yati, ?al-faşli, ؟ uridat kullu rusu:ma:ti ?al-ţulla:bi fi ?al-ma؟ radi. Ħa:zat lawħa:tuka ؟ ala ihtima:mi zuwwa:ri ?al-ma؟ rad. Taqaddamat ?ilayka iħda şadi:qa:tuka lituħanni?aka faqa:lat:You enrolled in a painting class this semester. When the lessons were over, the students’ works are displayed at an exhibition. Your paintings get a lot of attention. A friend comes over to greet you and she says:?al-şadi:qah: Ka:nat lawħa:tuka ?al-?afdal wal ?a d3mal fi haða: ?al-ma؟ rad. Friend: Your paintings are the most outstanding ones in this exhibition.

Bima:ða: tarudu: __________________________________________

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

7. Qumta ?anta wa zumala:?i şaffika bi؟amali ħaflati wida:؟ in li?usta:ðatika fi ?al-şaf. Wa ka:na ؟ ala kulli ţa:libin ?an yuħdira ma؟ ahu ţabaqa ?aklin ţabaxahu binafsihi. Taðawwaqat ?usta:ðatuka ta؟ a:maka wa qa:lat: You and your classmates make a farewell party for your professor in the class. Everyone has to bring something they cook. Your professor tastes your food and she says to you:?al-usta:ðah: Haða: ţa؟ a:mun laði:ðun haqqan.Profesor: Hey! This is really delicious.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

8. Ka:na ؟ indaka imtiħa:nan ?al-?usbu:؟ i ?al-ma:di. Wa ?al-yawmu ?axbaraka ?al-?usta:ðu bi?annaka ħasalta ?ala ?a؟ la ؟ ala:matin fi ?al-şaffi. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-muħa:darati taqaddamat ?ilayka iħda zami:la:tika wa qa:latl:

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You had a test last week. Today the professor announced that you got the highest score in the class. After class, a classmate comes over to you and she says:?al-zami:lah: ?anta qumta bi؟ amalin ra:?i؟ in bilraġmi min şu؟ u:bati ?al-imtiħa:ni.Classmate: You did really good. The test was very tough.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

9. Katabta baħθan ؟ ilmiyyan liiħda ?al-masa:qa:ti ?allati darastaha:. Wa nu∫ira haða ?al-baħθu fi mad3allatin ؟ilmiyyatin. ?al-yawmu qa:balta ?usta:ðan qara?a? baħðaka, wa qa:l laka:You wrote an article for one of your classes. Later, it was published in a journal. Today, you meet a professor who has read your article. He says to you:?al—usta:ð: Ka:na baħθuka mumta:zan, wa ?ana: istamta؟ tu biqra:?atihi.Professor: Your article is interesting. I really like it.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

10. ?aşbaħta udwan fi firqati ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati ?al-masraħiyyati, wa hiyya tuqaddimu masraħiyatan kullu faşlin. Qaddamta ؟ ardan masraħiyan ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyata, wa ka:na dawruka mutamayyizan. ?al-yawmu fi ?al-şaffi, taqaddamat ?ilayka şadi:qatan laka wa qa:lat: You joined a university’s theater group. It organizes a play every semester. A play was put on last night and you had a leading role. Today at class, a female friend walks up to you and says:?al-şadi:qah: ∫a:hadtu ?al-masraħiyyata ?al-laylata ?al-ma:diyati, wa ka:na tamθi:laka ra:?i؟ an.Friend: I went to see the play last night. You were terrific.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

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11. Darasta masa:qa taşwi:rin fi haða: ?al-faşli. Wa ka:na min mutaţallaba:ti haða: ?al-masa:qi ?an tu؟ rada kullu şu:ratin ?ama:ma ?al-ţulla:bi. Wa ؟indama: ؟ aradta ?al-su:rata ?al-?u:la, tabayyana ?anna ?usta:ðaka ?u؟ d3iba biha: kaθi:ran faqa:la:You enrolled in a photography class this semester. It is a requirement that every picture be reviewed in class. When you show your first picture to the class, your professor seems to like it a lot. He says:?al—usta:ð: Haðihi şu:ratun d3ami:latun. ?a؟ taqidu bi?anna ؟ indaka mawhibatan bi ?al-taşwi:ri.Professor: This is a beautiful photo. I think you have a gift in photography.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.

How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

12. ?anta mu:si:qa:run, wa haðihi ?al-laylatu tu∫a:riku firqati ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati ?al-mu:si:qiyyati bi؟ardin mu:si:qiyyin ?ala masraħi ?al-d3a:mi ؟ati. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ?al-ħafli, taqaddammat ?ilayka ?usta:ðatuka ?allati kanat bayna ?al-ħudu:ri wa qa:lat laka:You are a musician. Tonight, you and your university band perform at the auditorium. After the concert, your female professor, who is in the audience, comes up to you and says:?al—usta:ðah: ħaqqan, laqad istamta ؟tu biħaflati haðhi ?al-laylati. Kana ?ada:?aka ra:i?؟ an.Professor: I really enjoyed tonight’s concert. Your performance was excellent.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

13. ðahabta ?anta wa zumala:?ika fi ?al-şaffi fi riħlatin ?ila ?al-؟ aqabah. Wa fi ?al-ţari:qi, ?amsaka ∫axsun ma: qi:ta:ran, wa bada?a ya؟ zifu, wa ţalaba minka ?an tuġanni. Wa ba؟ da ?an ?akmalta ?al-ġina:?i, şaffaqa laka kullu zumala:?ika. Şadi:qatun laka qa:lat wa hiyya tabtasimu: You and your classmates go on a trip to Aqaba. On the way, somebody grabs a guitar and asks you to sing. After the singing, everybody gives you a big round of applause. A female friend smiles at you and she says:?al—usta:ðah: Lam ?akun ?a؟ rif bi?anna şawtuka d3ami:lun ?ila haðhi ?al-darad3ah. Friend: I didn’t know you could sing so well.

Bima:ða: tarudu: _________________________________________________.

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How do you respond: ______________________________________________.

14. ðahabta ?ila ?al-maktabati litadrusa ؟ ala ?imtiħa:nin ma:. Wa baynama kunta tadrusu, marrat ?usta:ðatun laka bilşudfati min d3a:nibika. Tawaqqafat qali:lan litataħadaθa ma؟ aka. Wa ؟ indama: ?adrakat ?annaka munhamikun fi ?al-dira:sati, qa:lat laka:You go to a library to study for exam. As you are studying, a professor happens to walk by. So she stops and talks to you for a while. When she notices that you’re studying, she says to you:?al—usta:ðah: ?anta ţa:libun mud3tahidun. Professor: You’re working really hard.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

15. ?anta tataħaduθu ?al-ind3ili:ziyyati bitala:qatin. ?al-yawmu huna:ka zuwwa:ran min ?amerika fi qismika ?al-?aka:di:mi. Wa ţuliba minka ?an taku:na mudi:fahum, wa kanu: sa؟ i:di:na bihaðihi ?al-ziya:rati. Wa b ؟da ?an ġa:dara ?al-duyu:fu, Taqaddama ?ilayka şadi:qun laka wa qa:la: You can speak English very fluently. Today, there are visitor from the US at your department. You are assigned to be their host and they are very pleased with the visit. After the visitors have left, a male friend says to you:?al-şadi:q: ?anta tatakalamu ?al- ind3ili:ziyyata biţala:qatin. Kullu ∫axşin ka:na mu ؟ d3aban biţala:qatika. Friend: Your English is very good. Everyone was impressed.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

16. ?anta ؟ udwun fi fari:qi ?al-d3a:mi؟ ati lissiba:ħati. ?al-yawmu ħasalta ?ala ?al-markizi ?al-?awwali fi ?al-buţu:lati. Wa ba؟ da intiha:?i ħafli tasli:mi ?al-d3awa:?izi, taqaddama ?ilayka şadi:qun laka wa hanna?aka ؟ ala haða: ?al-fawzi, θumma qa:la:You are on the university swimming team. Today, you won first place in the competition.After an awards ceremony, a male friend congratulates you and he says:?al-şadi:q: Ka:na ?a:da:?aka mutmayyizan, wa ?ana: kuntu ? ؟rifu bi?annaka satafu:z.Friend: You’re so good. I know you were going to win.Bima:ða: tarudu: _______________________________________________.How do you respond: ____________________________________________.

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