This study examined whether Iranian L2 learners transfer compliment response behavior from their L1 to L2 speech act production. To this end, 40 upper-intermediate Iranian L2 learners, 40 Persian native speakers (non-English majors), and 40 American native speakers participated in the study. The English version of a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) was given to L2 learners and American native speakers while the translated version of the same test was given to Persian native speakers. The results revealed that when responding to compliments in English, Iranian L2 learners transferred their L1 norms and values to their target language. This indicated that responding to compliments in an L2 requires the acquisition of sociocultural norms of the target culture.
