Sex-based Differences in Chinese Written Compliment Behavior——An Experimental Report from a Normal University in Northwestern Part of China

This article presents an analysis of gender differences in the use of compliments in one gender-linked written discourse.The data under study is composed of a set of 64 peer reviews written by graduate students.Drawing on the ideas of Universality and Cultural Relativity as theoretical framework in the present study, we analyzed the forms, strategies, and discourse functions of compliments respectively.It was found that women made significantly greater use of complementing positive adjectives, intensifiers, and third personal reference than men did.In using compliments to structure discourse, women more often framed the text with both opening and closing compliments.Consistent patterns suggested that women writers accommodated to the gender of their addressee more than men did, resulting in a discernible female-female complimenting style.The study illustrates specific ways in which gender is involved in being polite, creating and sustaining a sense of involvement in written discourse.Afterwards, the findings in the present study have been approached from the perspectives of linguistics and culture.Additionally, a set of Chinese characteristics in the present study have been elaborated and given certain explanations.The article comes to an end with the presentation of the conflicting ideas of Universality and Cultural Relativity, which have also found their way into the study of written compliment, and some implications of the present study.