The Speech Act of Compliment of Chinese Learners of Thai: An Interlanguage Pragmatic Study
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Abstract
Background and Objectives: Although compliments can foster positive feelings in listeners, giving compliments may be challenging for second language learners due to cross-cultural differences in topics and strategies. This research article aims to investigate the speech act of compliment performed by Chinese learners of Thai from the perspective of interlanguage pragmatics, considering the social status of the interlocutors.
Methods: Data were collected using a context-enriched discourse completion task. The participants included 100 Chinese learners of Thai, who are also native Chinese speakers, and 50 native Thai speakers.
Results: The research results reveal that in the cases where the speakers have equal status to the listeners, Chinese learners of Thai and native Thai speakers tend to give compliments in a similar manner, with a frequency exceeding 99%. However, in the cases where the speakers have lower status than the listeners, Chinese learners of Thai tend to give compliments with significantly higher frequency than native Thai speakers. Furthermore, when choosing to compliment, both Chinese learners of Thai and native Thai speakers preferred explicit compliment strategies over implicit compliment strategies. Nevertheless, differences in the use of certain strategies were observed, which may hinder the effective conveyance of intention, such as the use of love expressions by Chinese learners of Thai. Regarding the decision not to give compliments, the factors affecting decision-making differed between Chinese learners of Thai and native Thai speakers. Chinese learners of Thai tended to prioritize their own feelings and thoughts, as well as their linguistic limitations in Thai. In contrast, native Thai speakers placed greater emphasis on the social status of the interlocutors.
Application of this study: The research results reveal the characteristics of how Chinese learners of Thai use the speech act of compliment, which can be further applied to the development of Thai language teaching for Chinese learners.
Conclusions: The study of compliments by Chinese learners of Thai from the perspective of interlanguage pragmatics demonstrates the characteristics of performing the speech act of compliment by the Chinese learners of Thai, including their decisions on of whether or not to give compliments, the selection of language strategies for expressing compliments, and the reasons for not to give compliments. The research considers the status factors of the interlocutors, including compliments made by speakers with equal status to the listeners, as well as compliments made by speakers with lower status than the listeners. The results reveal how Chinese learners of Thai use the Thai language to convey compliment intentions, showing similarities and differences with native speakers, which can be used as a guideline for teaching and learning Thai as a second language.
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