Topics of Compliments According to Sex

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Research Paper

Topics of Compliments According to Sex

SEX AS A FACTOR IN COMPLIMENTING BEHAVIOR AMONG MARRAKESHI MEN AND WOMEN

Examination of the data I have collected reveals that all compliments fall into three topics: apparel, ability and possession; with the first one accounting for 60.7% of the data. Compliments on possession are relatively rare if compared to those of apparel and ability. The table below demonstrates the distribution of compliments by topic.

Compliments	Number	%
Apparel	79	60.7
Ability	31	23.8
Possession	20	15.3
Total	130	100

If we consider the distribution of compliment topics by sex, we find that there is an observable tendency for women to compliment on apparel. 73.2% of all compliments on apparel are given by women, compared to only 26.4% given by men. The overwhelming majority of all these compliments are directed to children (41 out of 79 compliments are given by women). In cross-sex interactions, it is clear that women in our society are far more likely to give compliments on apparel than men; a finding which is totally different from that found both by Wolfson (1983b) and Holmes (1988) in their studies of American and New Zealand complimenting respectively. Another interesting thing to be noted here is that compliments between males are relatively rare if compared to those between women (only 3 of all compliments having to do with apparel).

The data also reveals that ability is the topic of compliment much more preferred by men for complimenting. The majority of compliments are addressed to women and most of which having to do with the work done with the hands, especially cooking. Cooking is observed to be complimented at either the beginning or end of the meal. This sort of compliments is generally used both to express ones admiration of the thing presented and to thank the addressee for his/her efforts. Compliments on ability are also observed to be dominant in interactions between women. Concerning compliments on possession, both men and women appear to compliment on this topic and this can clearly be seen in interactions involving the same sex; whereas in cross-sex interactions only women tend to compliment on this topic. Children, on their part, are not involved both in compliment on ability and possession either as speakers or receivers, as the following table demonstrates.

Topic	F-F	F-M	F-C	M-M	M-F	M-C
Apparel	9 11.3%	8 10.1%	41 51.8%	3 3.70%	1 1.20%	17 21.50%
Ability	9 29%	1 3.2%	0 0	5 16.1	16 51.6	0 0
Possession	9 45%	5 25%	0 0	6 30%	0 0	0 0
Total	27	14	41	14	17	17
Interaction between compliment topics and sex of participants

The above discussion has, I hope, illustrated some aspects of complimenting behavior in the Marrakeshi context. But, it is worth noting that the specific occasion of LAid Sghir, on which the data is collected, with regard to its religious dimensions may have a great influence on the frequency of certain compliment topics and their distribution by sex as well as on compliment expressions used.

A research paper submitted to the department of English of Cadi Ayyad University
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Licence-es-Letters in English
Year : 1998 - 1999 / Major : Linguistics / Seminar Title :Pragmatics
Supervisor : Dr. GAJJOUT Hassan