Compliments as supportive moves in social media conflicts: intercultural patterns in L2 English production

Abstract

This study examines how Italian learners of English use compliments when responding to criticism on social media to support others in online conflict. While previous research has shown that learners can often recognise positive evaluation but struggle to identify compliments accurately, less is known about how they produce them in confrontational interaction. To address this, the study discusses written responses to scenarios based on real Facebook posts. It compares two groups: Italian speakers writing in Italian and in English L2, and native English speakers’ production. The analysis examines how often compliments are used, how they are expressed and the role they play in managing disagreement, especially in cases involving criticism of performance or appearance. The findings show that learners do not simply transfer Italian patterns or fully align with English ones. Instead, they combine strategies from both languages in developing pragmatic skills. Overall, the study brings together interlanguage and intercultural pragmatics to show how learners navigate online conflict by drawing on multiple pragmatic repertoires, highlighting the intercultural dimension of evaluative discourse in digital communication.