Abstract
This study examines 'pre-sequence' and 'post-sequence' features in compliment discourse by comparing the data of 30 pairs of Japanese students and 30 pairs of Korean students in everyday conversations. The following tendencies were clarified: 1. While the number of compliment discourses in Korean exceeded those in Japanese, more utterances within one compliment discourse were found in Japanese than in Korean. 2. Pre-sequences are used more often in Japanese than in Korean. In Korean, a speaker often starts the conversation with a compliment without a pre-sequence. 3. In sequences following compliments, both Japanese and Korean speakers tend to continue the topic of compliment and lead the conversation, leading to further compliments. 4. The difference between Japanese speakers and Korean speakers in number of utterances within one compliment discourse was seen to be related to the use or non-use of pre-sequences, the length of responses, and how the topic was continued.
