Compliment response patterns among speakers of Nigerian English

Abstract

Many studies of compliment responses of many speech communities especially, native English speakers ( Pomerantz, 1978; Holmes, 1986; Herbert, 1989) reveal not only their preferred response patterns but also some vital information about their social values and norms. However, it does not appear (based on the limited knowledge of the author) that a similar study (barring Yuan, 1996) has been done among non-native speakers of English, especially ESL speakers. In this paper, 1200 compliment responses that were ethnographically collected among speakers of Nigerian English (ESL variety) in Lagos are analyzed in order to show their compliment response patterns and compare it with what has been reported in the other English speaking communities. My findings suggest areas of both convergence and divergence. The diverging patterns underline cultural differences in responding to compliments, information that might be necessary for cross-cultural communication.