From words to multimodalities: Compliment perceptions across lingua cultures

Abstract

While compliments have been widely studied through various methods, recipient perceptions in multimodal contexts remain insufficiently explored. Multimodal cues, such as intonation, gestures, and facial expressions, may play a crucial role in shaping compliment perception, yet these factors lack systematic analysis. To address this gap, this study examines how compliments are perceived across different modalities using the Modal Incremental Perception Method (MIP). Specifically, it investigates how 362 native speakers of English, Swiss German, and Chinese perceive the same compliments in four modes: text-only, text with emojis, audio, and multimodal video. Through online experiments and retrospective interviews, this study explores multiple dimensions of compliment perception, including sincerity, politeness, appropriateness, likeability, and pleasantness, along with participants' reasoning for their evaluations. The quantitative results show that lingua culture significantly influences perceptions of the four forms of compliments to varying degrees, with the inclusion of multimodal information affecting compliment perceptions across lingua culture groups. Additionally, the qualitative analysis shows that participants’ reasons for compliment perceptions are influenced by both lingua culture and individual differences. Overall, this study shifts the analytical focus from compliment production to perception and provides a multidimensional perspective on compliments, therefore advancing speech act research from the perspective of compliments.