Universal Language or Culturally Specific Symbols, What Do Emojis Really Mean?
The V for victory emoji is offensive to those in the UK, Chinese consider the hand-wave emoji to be a snub, and emojis like the thumbs-up, and horn sign have sexually explicit undertones in certain countries.
Representative Image: Reuters
Even though they appear inconsequential and effortless, emojis have seamlessly ingrained themselves in modern conversations and language usage.
While many had initially dismissed emojis as a fad in the ever-expanding repertoire of all things digital, the image characters have proved their resilience in the world of communication today.
In fact, a group of researchers, scientists and linguists even got together recently at Stanford for the ‘International Workshop on Emoji Understanding and Applications in Social Media’.
Initially a set of just 179 characters, emojis have grown to be a set of almost 3,000+ symbols and unique icons. There is an annual festival called the Emojicon to celebrate all things emoji. In fact, last year Sony Entertainment also released an ‘An Emoji Movie’, starring you guessed it, emojis.
Gesticulating in text
“Emojis are interesting because they’re, in some ways, symbolic of the hyper-visual present we inhabit. They’re short-cuts, if you think about it, and are deeply culturally specific,” said Harmony Siganporia, Assistant Professor teaching Culture and Communication in MICA.
“Think about the word itself - 'emoti-con'. A con or hack job when it comes to generating what we think of as emotion,” she said.
The fact the emojis do not represent words but rather emotions have been echoed by other academics too.
According to linguist Gretchen Mcculloch, emojis let people add emphasis through gesticulation. What she is essentially saying is that emojis are used to add the emphasis of a gesture to a word, add personal emotion.
Universal vs Cultural
Many have said that emojis have enabled the creation of a global, universal language based on images that are fast replacing traditional languages.
“Because they transcend language, emojis are also able to be more generic and accessible to anyone who can “see”, even if they can’t read or write. They thrive on verisimilitude,” Siganporia told News18.
“However, at the same time, they are deeply culturally specific. There are studies that show which emojis are most popular in which countries, but don’t adequately explain why that might be – they miss the cultural context,” she added.
In China, for example, the simple smiley face may be interpreted as a sign of sarcasm.
Another emoji which has popularly been in the eye of contention in terms of its meaning is the ‘namaste’ emoji. While Indians tend to use it as that, many feel it can be used to signify prayer. There are others who feel it is a high-five between two palms. But, when it was initially developed in Japan, it was supposed to mean just thank you or please.
While many had initially dismissed emojis as a fad in the ever-expanding repertoire of all things digital, the image characters have proved their resilience in the world of communication today.
In fact, a group of researchers, scientists and linguists even got together recently at Stanford for the ‘International Workshop on Emoji Understanding and Applications in Social Media’.
“Emojis are interesting because they’re, in some ways, symbolic of the hyper-visual present we inhabit. They’re short-cuts, if you think about it, and are deeply culturally specific,” said Harmony Siganporia, Assistant Professor teaching Culture and Communication in MICA.
“Think about the word itself - 'emoti-con'. A con or hack job when it comes to generating what we think of as emotion,” she said.
The fact the emojis do not represent words but rather emotions have been echoed by other academics too.
According to linguist Gretchen Mcculloch, emojis let people add emphasis through gesticulation. What she is essentially saying is that emojis are used to add the emphasis of a gesture to a word, add personal emotion.
Universal vs Cultural
Many have said that emojis have enabled the creation of a global, universal language based on images that are fast replacing traditional languages.
“Because they transcend language, emojis are also able to be more generic and accessible to anyone who can “see”, even if they can’t read or write. They thrive on verisimilitude,” Siganporia told News18.
“However, at the same time, they are deeply culturally specific. There are studies that show which emojis are most popular in which countries, but don’t adequately explain why that might be – they miss the cultural context,” she added.
In China, for example, the simple smiley face may be interpreted as a sign of sarcasm.
Another emoji which has popularly been in the eye of contention in terms of its meaning is the ‘namaste’ emoji. While Indians tend to use it as that, many feel it can be used to signify prayer. There are others who feel it is a high-five between two palms. But, when it was initially developed in Japan, it was supposed to mean just thank you or please.
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