ECSTRA/Compliments

Typical situations and forms to be focussed on:

1. things that people can make compliments on in a nation, e.g.
 * 1.1. clothes
 * 1.2. looks
 * 1.3. possessions
 * 1.4. intellectual abilities
 * 1.5. physical abilities
 * 1.6. intellectual achievements
 * 1.7. physical achievements
 * 1.8. language competence
 * 1.9. the meal one was invited to
 * other things

2. ways of reacting to a compliment, e.g.
 * 2.1. pure thanking ("Thank you")
 * 2.2. agreeing ("Yes, I also think it's good")
 * 2.3. (thanking and) expressing gladness ("I'm glad you like it")
 * 2.4. (thanking and) returning the compliment ("You look nice, too")
 * 2.5. (thanking and) offering (materialistic) object of compliment ("You can borrow it if you like")
 * 2.6. (thanking and) encouraging ("I'm sure you can achieve this as well")
 * 2.7. (thanking and) explaining ("My mom gave it to me")
 * 2.8. (thanking and) doubting ("You really think so?")
 * 2.9. rejecting and denigrating ("Oh no, that's nothing")
 * 2.10. thanking and denigrating ("Thank you, but that's nothing")
 * 2.11. expressing embarassment ("Oh no, you embarass me")
 * other forms

3. things that people don't, or are forbidden to, compliment on, e.g.
 * 3.1. clothes
 * 3.2. looks
 * 3.3. possessions
 * 3.4. intellectual abilities
 * 3.5. physical abilities
 * 3.6. intellectual achievements
 * 3.7. physical achievements
 * 3.8. language competence
 * 3.9. the meal one was invited to
 * 3.10. the host's wife's appearance
 * other things

On this question, cf. Taboo (ECSTRA).

(Please remember our guidelines.)

AT: Austria
Vienna, Lower Austria (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 2, rarely 4, 6 (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: often: 11, 10, 4, 7, 8; sometimes 1, 3, 5 (ECSTRA-Q)

informand without indication of her home region (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, and especially 9, also 2
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, also 6 and (among elderly people) 9

BE: Belgium
Brussels (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1, 2, 8, 9, also 3, 4, 5
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4

CH: Switzerland
Lausanne (French-speaking area) (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1-9
 * 2.: 1, 4, 6, 9, 10

CZ: Czech Republic
Bohemia (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1, 6, 9
 * 2.: 1, 4

DE: Germany
Bremen
 * 1.: 1-9 (ECSTRA-Q, PO)
 * 2.: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

south
 * 1.: 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 5, 6, 7, with respects to children also 4 (ECSTRA-Q, PO)
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, (6), 7, 8, (9) (ECSTRA-Q, PO)

Saxony (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1-9
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

DK: Denmark
...

EE: Estonia
...

ES: Spain
Andalucía (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11

Castilia y León (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1-9
 * 2.: 3 (all ages), 4 (women), 5 (teenage friends), 7 (women), 10 (old women)

FI: Finnland
Finnish-speaking area (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1-9
 * 2.: 1, 2, 3 (for presents), 4 (rare), 5 (very rare), 6 (rare), 7-10 (common)

Swedish-speaking area (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1 (especially to women), 6, 7, 9, haircut
 * 2.: very common: 1; common: 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10; sometimes: 11; not so usual: 3; very unusual: 5, 6

FR: France
Aix-en-Provence (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
 * 2.: 1 (frequent), 3 (frequent), 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Indre et Loire (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: basically for everything, esp. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9
 * 2.: 1-7

Montargis (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1 (very frequent), 2 (very frequent), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (very frequent), 9 (very frequent)
 * 2.: 1 (very frequent), 3, 4 (very frequent), 6, 7, 8 (very frequent), 9, 10, 11

Fontainbleau (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 2, 8, 9 (very frequent)
 * 2.: 3 (very frequent), 4 (very frequent), 6, 7, 9, 10

Paris (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: everything, maybe except for possessions and maybe intellectual abilities
 * 2.: 1-11, broad range of individual variation, but 1, 3, 4, 8 seem especially prominent

HR: Croatia
...

HU: Hungary

 * 1.: 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, home (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1, 3 (with equipment, food), 4, 7, 9 (with achievements, linguistic competence) (ECSTRA-Q)

IE: Ireland
Dublin (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1-9
 * 2.: 1, 6, 8, "This old thing!"

IT: Italy
Lombardy (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1, 3, 4, money, cars, raise of salary
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 5, (6), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Friuli Venezia-Giulia (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1 (frequent), 2, 5, 6, 7, 9
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 2 (i.e. "Yes, you're right")

LT: Lithuania

 * 2.: 1, 2 (in certain situations), 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

LU: Luxemburg

 * 1.: practically everything can be made compliments on, esp. clothes and looks, possessions (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1, 3 (very frequent), 4, 5 (rare), 6, 7 (very frequent), 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

LV: Latvia
...

MT: Malta

 * 1.: 1, 2, passed exam, job, birth of a child (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1 (very frequent), 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

NL: Netherlands
...

NO: Norway
...

PL: Poland

 * 1.: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, children and their talents/achievements, grandchildren (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

PT: Portugal
Alentejo (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 1.: 1, 2, 3, 4, (5, 6, 7, 8), 9, success
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

SE: Sweden

 * 1.: 1-9 (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1 (very frequent), 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

SI: Slovenia
...

SK: Slovakia
...

UK: United Kingdom
Cambridgeshire, England (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 2, 4, talents, personal qualities
 * 2.: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10, 11

Scotland (ECSTRA-Q)


 * 1.: 1, 2, 4-5 (ok with respect to children, less common with respect to adults), 6, 7, 9, success of any kind
 * 2.: a Glasgow informand writes 2-11 (i.e. excl. 1), another Scottish informand writes that 1 is the most common, 3 4 7 8 9 10 11 are common, 5 quite common, and 2 and 6 very rare.

Australia

 * 1.: 1-9 (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1-11 (ECSTRA-Q)

Colombia

 * 1.: 1, 2, 9, 6, professional achievements, well done job (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1, 3 (when replying to a compliment about clothes, a meal, a piece of artistic work), 4 (when replying to a compliment about clothes or appearance), 5 (sometimes when replying to a compliment about possessions), 7, 8, 9 and 10 (when you are happy to have helped somebody); 2, 6, 11 not so usual (ECSTRA-Q)

Greece

 * 1.: intelligence, looks, knowledge on various topics, professional achievements, being a good cook or housekeeper (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (frequent), 10, sometimes 2 and 11 (ECSTRA-Q)

Lebanon

 * 1.: 1-9 (ECSTRA-Q)
 * 2.: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (ECSTRA-Q)