A pragmatic analysis of complimenting in Xhosa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This study investigates the speech acts of complimenting in Xhosa. It is divided into fivechapters, which are arranged as follows:Chapter 1 states the aims of the study. The method, design and the organization of thestudy are also investigated.Chapter 2, the speech act theory and the politeness theory have been dealt with. Thesetheories included the basic assumptions of this study.Chapter 3 deals with compliments and compliment responses as they are discussed withregard to various languages, i.e. the works of Wolfson and Manes (1980), Wolfson (1983),Manes (1983), Holmes (1988) and Herbert (1990).Chapter 4 deals with compliments and compliment responses in Xhosa. In this chapterthe compliments have been divided into three social groups, namely males and females;friends and people of unequal status. The people of unequal status are divided into twosub-groups, people with superior status and lower status. In Xhosa people of lower andhigh status do compliment one another. Also Xhosa males and females; friends andpeople of unequal status tend to compliment one another. The most commoncompliments concentrate on appearance, ability and possession. In some cases thecompliments are used to a way of encouragement and showing of appreciation.People who are being complimented tend to respond to the compliment. The responsecan be positive or negative. The person who is complimented can agree or disagree withthe compliment. The response depends on how he/she feels about the compliment.Chapter 5 is the last chapter of this study. It represents the conclusion in which the mainfindings in the study are summarized.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University