Paying compliments in Xhosa: A favoured gender-based conversational strategy

Abstract

The social changes in contemporary South Africa could be reflected in the ways in which people pay compliments to one another. In this article, the possibility of a shift from the traditional method of paying compliments by Xhosa men and women is investigated given the changes in the lifestyle and modernization of societies. The article further explores what communicative functions the speech act of expressing compliments intends to serve as well as how it does this. The findings of the study, which are provided through a statistical analysis of compliments, categorize compliments given by both males and females in the Kayamandi and Ikaya public schools and the Kayamandi Township in Stellenbosch. The categories of compliments entail those dealing with appearance, ability and possession.