Emojis have become a part of our daily smartphone usage, and have taken a language of their own. The word itself comes from the Japanese for “picture characters,” the right words because emojis are little characters we use to express ourselves.But it’s not just Japanese words that we’re adopting in our everyday life. It’s everything that the emoji has come to symbolize, both metaphorically and literally.
“Emoji” was Oxford Dictionary’s Word of The Year for 2015, so it’s fitting that they have an opinion about what each emoji actually means. Because of the way that emojis are used to enhance communication, we can refer to them as part of a metaphorical language of sorts. You probably can’t have a full conversation using them (well, maybe some of us can), but you can definitely use them to enhance the way we interact with one another. They can add linguistic layers to text messages, which helps convey messages more accurately when you’re not face to face.According to the New York Post, 90% of the world’s 3.2 billion internet users use emojis every day. Since so much of our communication in real life is non-verbal, it makes sense that we have adopted emoji to convey some of this non-verbal language when chatting in the online world.
There’s no denying that the popularity of emojis has infiltrated popular culture. In fact, we actually saw the release of The Emoji Movie in 2017, an animated affair starring the voices of Anna Faris, James Corden, and TJ Miller. Many famous music artists and actors, such as Christina Aguilera, also made cameo appearances in The Emoji Movie. Although the movie’s reviews were not fantastic, the simple fact that this movie was created shows the pervasive impact emojis have had on our culture.
You don’t have to know English, Spanish, French or Chinese to understand emojis, which is the beauty of them. Since they replicate facial expressions, you can use them in a wide variety of situations to highlight meaning non-verbally. Emojis make meaningless ambiguous in conversation.However, there are slight differences in emoji meaning across cultures. Since emoji usage is so big in the USA, many emojis are skewed to a US audience, so they might not reflect all users and may even isolate some. However, there are movements to include more diversity, because even in Emojiland, representation is important. After all, emojis represent your message.Like any language, emojis will change, adapt and grow over time. And, as to whether “Emoji” is an actual language, at least one translation agency, Today Translations in London, is employing an emoji translator.
It’s easy to say that emojis are “just” icons, but, if nothing else, they transcend generations and cultural backgrounds to contribute to the rich tapestry that makes up our communication in the digital age.
