An Analysis of Compliment Response Strategies by Jordanian Adolescent Students: The Influence of Gender and Social Power

Abstract

This study highlights the compliment response strategies of Jordanian adolescent students, and discusses the respective influences of gender and social power on the production of these strategies. The participants were 37 male and 37 female Jordanian adolescent students at private secondary schools in Amman, with ages ranging from 14–16. They responded to eight discourse completion test situations translated into Arabic to ensure the participants’ understanding. These eight scenarios resembled academic situations which students might face in their daily life, and were intended to represent interactions with persons of different social standing/power. The resulting data were analysed based on the classification system found in previous research. The results revealed that both male and female participants preferred to accept compliments over using non-acceptance strategies. The most frequent strategies used by both groups were combination strategies and acceptance strategies, while nonacceptance strategies and face relationship-related response strategies were the least common. However, there were differences in the preference and frequency of use of other compliment response strategies such as amendment and no acknowledgment strategies. The participants’ gender and the social power of the speakers were also found to influence the choice and perception of politeness. For example, the males tended to use more acceptance strategies compared to the females. They also preferred different rank order of compliment response strategies when the hearer was of lower status. Finally, some pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research were briefly discussed by the researchers.