Japanese Compliment Responses:
A Comparison to American English Norms
Ueda Yoko
Sophia Computer College, Osaka
This study considers how Japanese cultural and social values are reflected in responses to compliments, comparing them to American cultural norms described in earlier research by Pomerantz (1975, 1978), Wolfson (1981, 1983) and Manes (1983). Fifteen young Japanese studying at the University of South Carolina were brought together on several occasions and their conversations were recorded and transcribed in detail. Twenty exchanges that involved some type of compliment and response were identified and analyzed. A variety of responses was observed, ranging from rejection, which is regarded as standard or ideal Japanese behavior, to acceptance, which could be thought to signal problematic behavior in Japanese situations. Methods of dealing with problematic behavior, including laughter, were also analyzed in terms of Japanese cultural values.
