Compliments, Self-Praise, and Self-Denigration among Nonnative English Users in an Online Setting

TESL-EJ. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://tesl-ej.org

Y

24

English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Computer Mediated Communication; Speech Acts; Pragmatics; Intercultural Communication; Communication Strategies; Discourse Analysis; Computational Linguistics; Foreign Countries; Social Networks; Program Descriptions; Exchange Programs; Cultural Awareness; Cultural Differences; Universities; Language Proficiency; Language Teachers; Second Language Instruction

Brazil; Japan; Taiwan; Netherlands; Algeria; Indonesia

1072-4303

In this study, we examined the use of compliments, self-praise, and self-denigration, as exchanged among nonnative English users. This was part of participation in an online cross-cultural exchange project (Ibunka 2019), which involved learners from six countries (Algeria, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and the Netherlands). The aim of the study was two-fold: first, to contribute to the burgeoning research on the three speech acts in online settings; second, to unravel how the project participants -- as nonnative users -- managed to build and sustain rapport/comity via these social acts, despite their assumed linguistic deficiency. The study's data were extracted from a corpus of 2055 posts and comments ([approximately equal to] 368654 words) and analysed in terms of: distribution (1105, 301, and 361 tokens were identified, respectively), topics (core vs. peripheral), sequential organisation (vertical vs. horizontal), and rapport/comity building potential. The findings were extensively discussed in light of the existing literature, especially relative to social networking sites. Some of these findings are of a particular interest to English language teachers, namely: using linguistic proficiency and incompetence as topics for the three speech acts and the latter deployment as metacomments and message openers/closers as well as for the management of relational work.

As Provided

2021

EJ1302256