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Complimenting and face: A pragma-stylistic analysis of appraisal speech acts in Cameroon Pidgin English

This study probes the use of appraisal speech acts in complimenting as a face-saving act in Cameroon Pidgin English, a language that transcends sociocultural and linguistic barriers. The data were obtained through a discourse completion task and participant observation of naturally occurring exchanges. The study adopted Giles' accommodation theory, and is also based on Goffman's study on Facework, later elaborated by Brown and Levinson. Through the pragma-stylistic and descriptive analytical approaches, the study identifies, classifies and describes appraisal compliments. Findings show that complimenting entails the pragmatic and discourse transfer of compliments to praise or show admiration, desire or envy, etc. The compliments are culture-specific and more expressive when they are characterized by markers that make them genuine and thus face-saving. In complimenting, we discern how complimenters and complimentees create and foster solidarity ties thanks to the flexibility of the language and, above all, to the creativity of its users.