Publish at March 04 2019 Updated March 04 2022
Forms of communication are evolving and expanding, as evidenced by the incorporation of emoticons and emojis into our written communication.
Emoji is a Japanese word used to refer to images or pictograms that are used to express an idea, emotion, or feeling in digital media.
Its name is made up of a Japanese sign equivalent to our "e", and "moji", which means letter. In French we call it emoticon which comes from the words emotion and icon.
It was in September 1982 that American scientist Scott Fahlman proposed the use of the character sequence :-) in the subject line of a message to indicate that the comment contained a joke. [1]
The first emoji was created in the late 1990s by Shigetaka Kurita, a team member working on a mobile Internet platform owned by DoCoMo, NTT's mobile operator. The experience was positive. The heart symbol was added to their Pocket Bell mobile options in 1995 and they then considered expanding the offering.
In 1999,an original set of emoticons included weather, traffic, technology and time.
In 2010, Unicode officially adopted emoticons, adding hundreds more cat faces emitting happiness, anger and tears.
In 2015, emoticons received a diversity update with five new skin tones and a set of same-sex couples. [2]
New emoticon proposals suggest characters to convey information across language and culture, such as a mosquito to represent diseases like malaria and Zika.
From time to time, the Unicode Consortium, the group responsible for updating the standard, approves new emojis. In 2016, as many as 72 new symbols appeared, and about 100 new designs are expected this year. Greater racial diversity and the inclusion of other international elements have been the main demands.
Emoticons are so popular among Internet and cell phone users that the smiling face with tears of laughter or joy was chosen as the "word of the year" in 2015 by Oxford University Press. [3]
In addition, since 2016, Apple has been celebrating World Emoji Day, an example of the development of these symbols today.
Communication through images has been present throughout history. Emoticons are the contemporary way to convey emotion via a keyboard. A return of language that is now coming into its own with force, favored by social networks and messaging apps. Emoticons say a lot about us and their use also determines the type of communication we have with the interlocutor.
Emoticons are the contemporary manifestation of the human tendency to represent their emotions and thoughts through images. Images have always played us a socializing, communicative and expressive role as important as language. Nonverbal communication in society is now enhanced by emojis.
As a reminder, much of human communication is nonverbal. A study from the University of Pennsylvania reported that the majority of communication is transmitted nonverbally. 70% of communication is done through body language, 23% through tone and inflection of voice, and only 7% through the words you speak [4]! Emoticons add this notion to the text of messages.
Although their use is very popular and there is great diversity, "emojis" are of Japanese origin, hence some associated cultural issues. For this reason, many of these elements are given a different meaning that has very little to do with those created.
The most surprising example is the emoticon that we associate with defecation. It could actually be a chocolate ice cream! [5] The debate is open on many sites.
Another example is the symbol for showing teeth, which is used as a grimace or a mockery, but its original meaning is different: it's linked to someone who is very happy.
Emoticons have integrated our communication codes and our "written" language. In this sense, they can enrich a communication impoverished by the only visual of text characters inherent to messaging, sms or social networks. Like any language, emoticons have their codes that must be common to users.
We note that emoticons do not necessarily erase cultural differences because the mimics reproduced can change from one country to another. Another difficulty is that emoticons may differ depending on the platform on which one is communicating or the device. IOS and Android emoticons are sometimes very different. When you communicate with someone who has an iPhone and you have your Samsung (for example) you send emojis to each other and you don't see those of your correspondent appear or vice versa. [6]
Whatever the case, emoticons have become an integral part of our daily communication, and that makes them worth analyzing.
Also read:
emoticons-become-our-new-alphabet
Smileys, emojis, emoticons, emotions
Emojis, new language or ephemeral buzz?
Sources:
[1] https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/how-the-emoticon-was-invented-2015-9
[2] https://www.wired.com/story/guide-emoji/
[3] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2015
[4] https://www.marquette.edu/hr/documents/the-art-of-communication.pdf
[5] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/12/poop-emoji-ice-cream_n_6857388.html
[6] https://www.iiro.eu/emojis-iphone-android/
You might also like:
Taking a risk or understanding a risk
Taking a risk is a delicate matter, especially in the face of major problems such as climate change. Many people don't want to see or understand, and remain passive. Others do the opposite. What are the reasons behind these decisions?
Impact of website color on information retrieval
The overall color of a site has an emotional effect on web users, determining their judgments, behavior and performance.
What Effect Does a Principal Have on School Success?
The position of principal is unique. He or she is a middle manager who directs the staff of a school while responding to the demands of other public bodies. Although they do not have as direct a relationship with the students as the teachers, their attitude is crucial to the success of the children. By establishing a healthy work environment, he or she enables a rewarding pedagogy.
Today we are discovering an unprecedented employment problem, which is that of having too many jobs for employees who, more and more, no longer have the qualifications to apply. Our world is changing and must also face the consequences of our past, which has given us many signals that we did not see in time.
Sustainable agriculture for a new consumption model
Agriculture, characterized by the intensive use of chemical inputs, has long been presented as the guarantor of food security. Today, this model is proving incapable of guaranteeing stability. The multiple responses to today's challenges provide much more than just food.
