Formulas and topics in Turkish and English compliments

Akdeniz Language Studies Conference -- MAY 09-12, 2012 -- Antalya, TURKEYWOS: 000317217200138This study aims to describe compliment Speech Events across English and Turkish Languages in terms of their formulas and topics. The data consists of 50 English and 50 Turkish compliments naturally produced by native speakers. The Field Method was used as a data collection tool. The compliment formulas are described and topics are classified according to possession, appearance, performance, attribute and skill. The findings suggest that performance of compliments in both groups are quite formulaic regarding their generic structures and show strong similarities and differences in this aspect, providing some implications regarding pragmatic competence. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ALSC 2012Akdeniz Uni