Lecture 2 Speech Act

As a madarin and taiwanese speaker, i usually respond compliments by thanking or sometimes just giving a smile. it's quite embarrassing for me when recieved compliment from an english speaker, and it's more difficult for me to say thank you in english, it would end up with an....awkward situation! ... i think the research is not that suit me. and also, my taiwanese friends and i seldom reject compliments especially in our mother language, but we did only smile when recieve compliment in english!

for me, it surprised me that there are not few ways to respond compliments, and i was shocked by the different kinds of responds answered by my group mates when doning group disscusion. (.....oh!! what was disscussed just now,... is true! i thought)

i remember in my high school years, one of my teacher said to us, that she appreciates the way german respond to compliments. she said that it was terrific to respond with thank you and agreeing it, unlike chinese to reject the compliments to show how humility we are. i think what she said really changed us, and when i read the article i think the way german respond is what we should learn, and not only the respond but also the compliment-giving. the compliments are not giving easily by german, but once it gives, it's by total truthfulness, which i think is what we should learn instead of giving and receiving compliments without honesty.