How thanking serves as a face-repaying act?

In this paper we explore the pragmatic components of the speech act of thanking in Chinese and Japanese linguacultures, focusing on thanking in social media communications. We approach thanking by using an interactional and relational speech act typology, focusing on it as a response to face-giving acts. Data were collected through adapted discourse completion tasks on social media, where participants composed messages to benefactors. The findings demonstrate that the speech act of thanking serves as a temporary restoration of face balance, encompassing various pragmatic components. Pragmatic components of thanking in both Chinese and Japanese linguacultures share similarities, reflecting cultural values of ‘reciprocation’ and ‘modesty’. While Chinese thank bridges interpersonal distance, Japanese thank emphasises contextual facts. Componential speech act analysis captures subtle differences between closely proximate linguacultures.