“How may I help you?” Politeness in computer-mediated and face-to-face library reference transactions

Drawing upon Wittgenstein’s theory of language games, we apply a pragmatic approach to organizational communication. The study extends current theories of computer-mediated communication, and explores how language actually gets used across media. We conduct a comparative study of face-to-face versus computer-mediated reference transactions in an academic library, and analyze people’s use of politeness strategies. The study observes that people use politeness strategies to play different language games across media, and that a dynamic interplay exists among the three constituents of language games: sense making, language use, and forms of life. In particular, we found that: First, people use significantly more negative politeness strategies and fewer positive politeness strategies online than face-to-face. Second, language use influences people’s understanding and precedes practical forms of life. Third, CMC is a different form of life than a face-to-face communication. The new online form of life shapes people’s sense making and the way they use language, resulting in emerging new grammars of CMC. Finally, our findings suggest the interplay among multiple forms of life. This study offers important theoretical and managerial implications for organizational communication and the production and delivery of services in the rapidly expanding digital economy.