汉语中男女在称赞语和称赞语回应使用上的差异分析

Sex-based Differences in the Realization Patterns of Compliments and Compliment Responses in the Chinese Context

本项研究旨在调查男女在称赞语的使用及其回应上是否存在差异。在研究设计方面,作者主要借鉴了Ye(1995)和Herbert(1990)的模式。研究的语料来自问卷调查。在结果的统计上,采用了X2检验和百分比统计相结合的形式。调查结果表明:男女在称赞语及其称赞语回应的策略使用上存在显著差异。总的来说,女性比男性倾向于使用较为礼貌的策略形式。这些差异可以从社会及文化的角度加以阐释。

Compliments are positive speech acts used to express friendship and increase rapport between people. Previous studies of compliments and compliment responses have shown that this speech act set is actually more complicated and revealing than it appears in terms of the relation between language, society and culture. The use of this speech act set has been influenced by certain social and individual variables such as age, gender, level of education, social status and social relationship between interlocutors. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there are any differences between men and women in their realization patterns of compliments and compliment responses. The study was based on the analytical framework established by Herbert (1990) and Ye (1995), but modified by the author for the present study. The data were elicited by means of an open-ended questionnaire called DCT. The subjects consisted of a group of 120 Chinese College students including 60 males and 60 females. Of the 120 answer sheets, 112 were valid. The statistical results show that, on the whole, there existed significant differences between men and women in performing the speech act set. Men and women also showed distinct differences in using compliment response strategies. These findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between gender and the realization patterns of this speech act set. We argue that females tend to be more polite in performing the speech act set by using more polite strategies because men and women view compliments differently. Men tend to interpret compliments as face threatening acts, whilst women tend to apply them as strategies for maintaining solidarity. Although both males and females have face wants, their sensitivity to face wants is different. These differences can be accounted for from both social and cultural perspectives. Men and women differ in language use because they often fill different roles in society. Furthermore, education may also contribute to the gender difference in language use. Boys and girls are taught to learn their gender-appropriate linguistic behavior during their childhood. With the development of the society, women' s social position has improved a lot. Society shows more and more concern and respect for women. These are reflected in both male and female language use.