A Comparative Study Of Self-Praise And Self-Boast In Chinese Interpersonal Communication

Self-praise is often used in communication,although it is considered as a risky strategy.It is defined as a speech act by which a speaker evaluates himself or herself positively for some “good”(possession,accomplishment,skill,etc.)and consists with facts.Self-praise could also be associated with explicit self-promoting statements,such as boasting which is defined as a speech act by which a speaker evaluates him/herself positively for some “good” with exaggeration or overstatement.Previous studies have focused on the pragmatic strategies of either self-praise or self-boast while ignoring the comparison between the two in linguistics.Therefore,the present study aims to explore the similarities and differences between self-praise and self-boast in Chinese interpersonal communication.Three research questions are addressed as follows:(1)What are the linguistic realizations of self-praise and self-boast respectively in Chinese interpersonal communication? Are they similar or different?(2)What are the pragmatic strategies of self-praise and self-boast respectively in Chinese interpersonal communication? Are they similar or different?(3)What are the communicative effects of self-praise and self-boast respectively in Chinese interpersonal communication? Are they similar or different?Based on the qualitative analysis of the data collected from contemporary Chinese TV series,the major findings are drawn as below.First,both similarities and differences have been found in the linguistic realizations of self-praise and self-boast.In term of lexical realizations,they both utilize similar attributes with positive connotations such as nouns or adjectives.However,they are different in the use of internal modifiers.People tend to praise themselves by using downgraders,whereas they boast by employing upgraders in order to highlight or intensify the degree.In terms of syntax,the similarity between self-praise and self-boast is that rhetorical questions are a common device used in them.As for differences,different syntactical constructions,for instance,“…praise me”(…都夸我了)and“not everybody is as…as me”(不是每个人都像我这么…)are respectively found to be used in praising and boasting oneself.Second,both similar and different pragmatic strategies of self-praise and self-boast are used in interactions.In general,they resemble each other in the three major types of pragmatic strategy,namely,explicit self-praise/self-boast without modification,modified explicit self-praise/self-boast and implicit self-praise/self-boast.However,specific strategies are found to be different under each category of self-praise and self-boast.Third,communicative effects achieved by self-praise and self-boast are both similar in the following ways.Both self-praise and self-boast are related to the speaker’s positive face.Specifically,interactants save their positive face by praising themselves,especially when it is threatened or challenged.As for boasters,they gain their positive face in front of other interlocutors in communication.Moreover,they are different in that people praise themselves in order to accomplish their professional goals and comfort others,whereas amusement and impoliteness can be brought about by self-boasting.This comparative investigation is of great significance to the study of speech act of self-praise which enriches the understanding of self-praise and self-boast from a new perspective.Additionally,by examining both similarities and differences,it facilitates interactants to select the appropriate strategy to fulfill their communicative goals and avoid disharmony and negative effects in interpersonal communication.