Politeness Strategies in Conversational AI: A Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Analysis of Human-AI Interactions

Xiaofei Luo

Authors

Xiaofei Luo Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA Author

Keywords:

conversational AI, politeness strategies, cross-cultural pragmatics, human-AI interaction

Abstract

This study investigates politeness strategies employed in conversational AI systems across different cultural contexts through comprehensive pragmatic analysis of human-AI interactions. The research examines how cultural variations in politeness norms influence user expectations and AI response patterns across multiple linguistic communities. Through systematic analysis of 15,000 interaction samples from English, Chinese, and Japanese conversational AI platforms, we identify significant disparities in politeness strategy implementation and user satisfaction metrics across diverse cultural environments. Our findings reveal that current AI systems demonstrate limited cultural adaptability in politeness expression, leading to pragmatic failures and reduced user engagement in non-Western contexts, particularly affecting East Asian user populations who report 23% higher dissatisfaction rates. The study establishes a comprehensive framework for evaluating cross-cultural pragmatic competence in AI systems and proposes specific design recommendations for culturally sensitive conversational agents. Advanced statistical analysis reveals that incorporating culture-specific politeness strategies can improve user satisfaction by 34% and reduce communication breakdowns by 42% while enhancing long-term user retention rates. This research contributes significantly to the growing field of cross-cultural AI interaction design and provides robust empirical evidence for the critical importance of pragmatic considerations in conversational AI development and deployment strategies.

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