Conclusion

Our findings provide preliminary evidence of cross-cultural differences in the new forms of communication caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that Mandarin native speakers use more linguistic strategies to acknowledge face threat of repair initiation than their Dutch counterparts. Academic literature on previous forms of communication found clear cross-cultural differences in directness of communication. However, due to the novel environment of online communication these patterns may have changed. As one of our Mandarin interviewees stated, they did not feel the need to be as polite as they would in face to face setting, while a Dutch interviewee mentioned how they thought it was rude not to interrupt. Interruption in normal face-to-face conversions is considered rude and generally not done. Online communication has its own set of challenges and should be researched further.