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As has been mentioned earlier, complimenting is a speech act that refers to something which is positively valued by both the
participants and attributed to the addressee. This seems to permit a variety of possible topics for compliments, but in fact
the overwhelming number of compliments fall into two major categories: those having to do with appearance and those which
comment on ability.
According to Holmes (1988), the most frequent type of compliments are those having to do with
appearance. This sort of compliments is generally perceived as most appropriate among people who know each other well. So,
comments such as those on attractiveness or any noticeable acquisition occur constantly in any interaction between friends,
colleagues, casual acquaintances, or sometimes even between strangers. Perhaps the most striking thing of this type is the
fact that such compliments typically involve women as speakers or addressees, or both. This predominance of this compliment
topic in womens interactions is consistent, as one may expect, with the view that women use compliments as an expression of
solidarity and that women usually pursue a style of interaction based on mutual agreement and support.
Wolfson (1983b)
states that the most typical kind of compliments on appearance is that dealing with apparel. Compliments such as I like those
pants on you or I love that blouse are so common and occur constantly in interactions between people. Compliments on appearance
may also include many other aspects of personal appearance, as well as homes, furniture, cars, and other material possessions.
In addition to compliments on appearance, by far the most frequent type of compliments are those which concern ability.
Wolfson (1983b), in her description of American English compliments by topic, observes that compliments of this sort are of
two broad types: those which are general and those which refer to a specific act well done. The first one includes all compliments,
which refer to something produced through the addressees skill or effort, or those which refer to the addressees talent, personal
qualities, and taste. The second type contains all compliments, which are act-specific of the sort: youre being so nice about
this. What youve suggested is so sane, so reasonable. Thats very rare around here. (Wolfson, 1983b:91). It also includes some
congratulatory compliments to teammates and students such as Good shot or Excellent point.
According to Wolfson
(1983b), the social status or the relationship between the speaker and the addressee has a great influence on the type of
compliment considered appropriate. It has been observed that the vast majority of all compliments are directed to people of
the same age and status as the speaker. This, of course, does not mean that compliments do not occur when status is unequal.
Wolfson (Ibid), in her examination of the distribution of compliment topics by status, points out that compliments in unequal
status relationships do occur, but it seems that particular topics appear to be more common. The great majority of compliments,
which occur in interactions between status unequal, are in some sense work-related. It is then not surprising that when status
is unequal, the high proportion of compliments focuses on ability, and that these are most of the time given by the person
of upper status who is frequently expected to make judgements concerning some activity or piece of work. Indeed, the effect
of status on what occurs in interactions is such that compliments from higher to lower status are twice as likely to relate
to work performance or ability as to appearance, while between equals or where the speaker is of lower status just the reverse
is true.
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