Moiz Gilani
Professor JP
English Composition
15 October 2019
Inquiry Based Essay: “Importance of Emojis”
Introduction
Emojis have had a huge impact on society, It has changed the way we communicate with others using texts. In this essay we will be exploring how Emojis are also known to be a language to others. People often tend to ignore how commonly used Emojis are. While some may argue that it has a negative impact on our society, Based on the research, Emojis are not as useless as many may think. They are also known as graphical version of emotion. Normally they are used in emails and text messages to show the sender’s emotion or some use them to make better sense of their message.
Inquiry
Are Emojis Effective in conveying a message in text-based communication, do they alter the tone? Emojis are becoming an increasingly common and crucial part of the way people communicate online. Emoji can add context, clarify the meaning of the message the sender is trying to convey. Emojis are often used to describe the emotions, therefore each emoji has its own meaning that would change the tone of the message depending on how we use it. There are a lot of similarities between a language and Emoji.
Thesis
Though some may just call Emojis “Images”, But they are more than just an Image. Emojis can express a person’s emotion clear and better than words can describe. Language and Emojis are very similar in many ways, But Emojis are much easier to interpret than reading a message. Every Emoji speaks for itself, instead of writing a sentence to describe a feeling or emotion, Emojis can be used which provides a visual image of one’s emotion, Some may even call Emoji a Language.
- The Essay will briefly analyze the meaning of Emojis and how it affects us. Both Adults and children are aware of Emojis these days and they overlook the advantages that it holds.
- Emoji can be considered a Language as it serves the same purpose in communication, which is to convey a message from person to person. However, Emojis are more interactive, it allows the user to include their reaction and emotion in a text. For Example, If you send a text, “Good Morning” without any Emoji it does not display any emotion, or in other words, This message is Lifeless. If we include a Happy Emoji, it would tell the reader how your mood is.
- The increasing popularity of text-based communication, such as mobile texting, have resulted in the emergence of a new pictographic form of language, known as “Emoji” offering a creative and informal way to convey emotions and attitudes, adding Emojis to express one’s emotion or replacing words and phrases with emojis in text messages.
Language
Emojis enable us to better express tone of voice and body language. But for many language experts, this form of communication is not given enough focus as it needs. Emojis represent an interesting and deeply entertaining evolution of language worldwide. They are a communicative system. They allow people to communicate emotions, actions, or impressions that they don’t feel they can express in text. Emojis are also known as “the body that dictates language on digital devices”.
“Critical Emoticons”
Emojis are pictographs used in digital communication that can provide an emotional context to text-based communication, potentially strengthening the impact, comprehension, and interpretation of a message by accentuating its intended positivity, negativity, or neutrality. A scholarly article by, Lynn Z Bloom Critical Emoticons, “The use of emoticons in literary criticism has numerous advantages. As the days of critical wine and roses dwindle down to a precious few, critical emoticons provide a cheap and easy means for streamlining our critical commentary. This economical expression and delivery of emotional judgment allows us critics to finally dare to say what we really mean in contexts hitherto dominated by indirection and obfuscation”(Bloom). This article talks about Emoticons that are similar to Emojis. The author is trying to give an idea of how useful Emoticons are, they allow us to convey our message the way it is intended.
- Without Emojis there can be misunderstanding between the reader and sender. The tone of the message can not be expressed unless Emojis are being used in the text. They help the sender to figure out how to properly convey the message behind their words.
“More than Words”
Emojis are often used to describe the emotions, therefore each emoji has its own meaning that would change the tone of the message depending on how we use it. More than words-Evidentiary value of emoji an Article by Browning, John G. “Emoji can add context, clarify meaning, or even completely transform a sentence by turning what initially appeared to be a serious statement into a joke simply by adding a winking or smiling face to indicate sarcasm or joking” (Browning). The purpose of this idea is that Emojis can help the writer to apply an emotion to the message. Emotions simply can not be expressed using words easily, However if we use an Emoji to show emotion, it can be interpreted by the reader without being confused.
- Today people live in a society where text-based communication is more frequently used than face-to-face conversation. Portrayal of emotion is very important when talking to someone. Just like facial expressions and body language are important in face-to-face conversation, Emojis are crucial in textual communication. They allow the person to portray what they meant to say and how they mean to respond.
Interview
While having an Interview with a Professor at City College of New York, We discussed a lot about Emojis and how they reveal our emotions. I asked some questions related to my topic that improved further understanding of how Emojis and Emotions are related to one another. Our views were similar concerning the topic as both agreed upon the fact that Emojis change the tone of a text and provides clarification to the message that helps the reader understand it better.
Opposing view
It is very controversial that some people say that emojis make people dumb, makes people misunderstand and are negatively effecting communication between people. The Telegraph, Emoji Ruining people’s grasp of English by Camilla Turner. “Emoji, a popular way to replicate non-verbal communication, are used six billion times a day and have been described as the fastest growing language in history. But one expert has warned that while there is a “superficial attraction” to using emoji, they are among the most damaging aspects of communication technology”(Turner)
- Emojis can lead to undesirable misunderstandings. Conversing online or through text messages has led to the loss of important elements in human communication. A direct person to person conversation involves verbal communication, which can be affected by a person’s tone of voice, where on the other side, text-based communication do not include reactions which can change the person’s interpretation of a statement completely.
- When a person communicates face-to-face, they are most likely to apply stress on certain words which helps the recipient to focus more and understand what others are saying. Confident gestures using the arms and hands, for example, can help to convey an assertiveness which might persuade the listener to comply with a person’s orders
Counter to Opposing view
Since Emojis are emotional icons that can be used to express mood and everyone easily understands it, that is why emojis are being used a lot by people. Variety of people from teenagers to elders use emojis to express their emotions. It can also be used in different situations such as when you don’t really know what to say and if you don’t want people to think that you are rude, you can respond with emojis. Professor of linguistics at Bangor University in the UK Vyvyan Evans, “It changes the meaning of how someone should interpret the text,”(Evans), The author describes that Emoji can affect the meaning of the message that the sender is trying to convey. The reader would interpret the text in a way that might not be true.
- Expressing emotions are limited in digital communication, Hence using Emojis might allow us to show our emotions.
- When Mentioning body language, Emojis are essential in providing such imagery. After the initial release of Emojis, The variety had increased overtime which introduced body signs and hand gestures that can be used in text-based communication.
Conclusion
The use of Emojis has tremendously increased throughout time. About two decades ago, the first Emoji was created and now there are thousands. Overtime, Emojis gained popularity by many users, they were added into text-based communication that can be accessed on several platforms and apps. Although some critics might say that it had a negative influence on society, There are several claims that prove that Emojis have more advantages and on the other side there are almost no negative effects. The emoji’s primary function is not to replace language but to fill in the emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversations. It allows us to be more effective communicators. Aside from showing emotion, Emojis also help understand the context. Many people use Emojis to give an idea of what they are saying, For example if a person does not understand English, Emojis can help convey the message since there emojis consist of all sorts of images. Such as weather, objects, buildings and food. In conclusion, Emojis can be called a Language as it can be understood by everyone, It allows us to express emotions that can simply not be explained in words. Emojis reduce digital communication complexity and allow a greater sense of identity.
Bibliography
Bloom, Lynn Z.
“Critical Emoticons.” symploke, vol. 18 no. 1, 2010, p. 247-249. Project MUSE
muse.jhu.edu/article/432545.
Browning, John G., and Gwendolyn Seale.
“More than words – evidentiary value of emoji.”The Computer & Internet Lawyer, Jan.
2017, p. 14+. Gale OneFile: LegalTrac,Accessed 11 Oct. 2019.
Maja Katarina Tomic, Marijana Martinez, and Tedo Vrbanec,
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1849-4803 (Online)2013;1(1):35-42
Marengo, David
“Assessing personality using emoji: An exploratory study”
Volume 112, 1 July 2017, Pages 74-78
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886917301162
Pillai, Gayathry
“12 Proven Advantages of using Emojis in Push Notifications”
Weissman, Benjamin, and Darren Tanner.
“A Strong Wink between Verbal and Emoji-Based Irony: How the Brain Processes Ironic Emojis during Language Comprehension.” PloS One, vol. 13, no. 8, 2018, p. E0201727.
Turner, Camilla
Emoji ‘ruining people’s grasp of English’ because young rely on them to communicate
17 April 2018, The Telegraph
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