  Recent research has begun to assess people's perceptions of voice user
interfaces (VUIs) as dialogue partners, termed partner models. Current
self-report measures are only available in English, limiting research to
English-speaking users. To improve the diversity of user samples and contexts
that inform partner modelling research, we translated, localized, and evaluated
the Partner Modelling Questionnaire (PMQ) for non-English speaking Western
(German, n=185) and East Asian (Japanese, n=198) cohorts where VUI use is
popular. Through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we find that the scale
produces equivalent levels of goodness-to-fit for both our German and Japanese
translations, confirming its cross-cultural validity. Still, the structure of
the communicative flexibility factor did not replicate directly across Western
and East Asian cohorts. We discuss how our translations can open up critical
research on cultural similarities and differences in partner model use and
design, whilst highlighting the challenges for ensuring accurate translation
across cultural contexts.
