Abstract:

The article focuses on the communicative speech situation of the “compliment” etiquette and looks into the PIROPO, one out of a wide range of Spanish compliments. The article introduces the definition of the PIROPO compliment and reveals its difference from the other forms of the Spanish compliment – the CUMPLIDO. This type of compliment is considered as a part of computer terminology speech formulas used to create the so-called “computer compliments”.
We can follow the evolution of this form of courtesy since the Middle Ages and up to the computer era of our days. The article gives a functional-communicative analysis of the variety of replies to the computer compliment in the modern Spanish language, reveals typical contexts of its usage, topical groups and language peculiarities of the stable formulas of the compliment. The study of the compliment is carried out with consideration of the national and cultural specificity of the speech behaviour and speech etiquette as well as in the semantic-stylistic and comparative aspect. This fact will help the second language learners (Spanish, in the question at hand) to master it with the view of cross-cultural dimension. In recent years, in the teaching of the Spanish language there appeared a tendency to suggest, along with purely grammatical approach to pay more attention to stylistic correctness, appropriateness of speech means. Unfortunately the existing textbooks do not take into account the peculiarities of the of speech means implementation in terms of everyday conversations to ease communication. In this regard, native speakers consider the non-natives’ speech as "too formal", "bookish", "archaic", "unnatural".
It should be noted that the requirement for the Spanish language training is especially important for a number of factors, one of which is the fact that in recent decades profound changes have undergone in the daily communication in Spanish. In particular, there is a shift in the set of communicative situations, opposed to the parameter "official / unofficial" toward a significant reduction in the first. The article touches upon another interesting feature of the piropos - the allegory, and suggests classifying the piropos as direct or allegoric. It determines the grammar structure and core (basic) verbs of the direct piropos, characterizes the main types of allegoric piropos basing on the semantic principle. Computer terms used in building speech formulas of the compliment are systemized.
The authors believe that communicative situations, such as the cumplido and pirope should become familiar to students, allowing them to feel comfortable interacting with native speakers to react to a certain speech formula depending on a formal or informal register of the communication. We believe that obtaining such "Spanish" formulas of speech etiquette will also establish closer contact with native speakers which may be relevant in areas such as diplomacy, business and other areas in which our graduates will work. Modern piropos have very little in common with the poetic Madrigal, from which they have originated. But even now computer piropos continue to amaze us with their ingenuity, and even of their authors’ poetry.

Keywords:

Communicative speech situation, speech etiquette, piropo compliment, cumplido compliment, computer terminology, allegory, addressee, addresser.