Politeness in Digital Interaction: A Pragmatic Analysis in Genshin Impact Discord Chats

Abstract

Politeness is key in maintaining smooth communication, especially in digital discourse spaces where tone and intent can be easily misunderstood. This research aimed to identify politeness strategies in Genshin Impact participants’ messages on the Discord server and identify factors influencing their use by adopting Brown & Levinson's (1987) theory. This research analyzed discourse transcripts from various Genshin Impact Discord server participants using a descriptive qualitative method. The findings revealed 113 utterances that occurred in the politeness strategies: 15 of bald on-record, 65 of positive politeness, 21 of negative politeness, and 12 of off-record politeness. Positive politeness strategies were primarily used in the Discord to maintain the close relationship between participants. Two main factors that influence politeness in Discord were payoffs (priori consideration) and circumstances of sociological variables. These findings highlight the importance of understanding politeness strategies in shaping respectful and effective communication in online gaming communities.