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| Simple emoticons have evolved into emojis |
It all started back in 1982 when a Carnegie Mellon professor (Scott Fahlman) was making a wisecrack while giving an electronic lecture. He placed the colon-hyphen-parenthesis afterwards to make sure nobody thought he was serious. Last year, Samuel Muston of the Independent in the UK wrote an interesting article about it all. Here's an excerpt:
With those three little keystrokes, he changed the English language. And not only that – he also changed the way we think. According to a study by Owen Churches in the latest issue of Social Neuroscience, the "metacommunicative pictorial representations of a facial expression" are now so endemic that we respond to them in the same way we would a human face bearing that expression.I learned long ago that it's easy to misinterpret the text of an email without hints as to what the author intended to say. These days it's easy to slap in the appropriate emoticon in case there is any possibility of misunderstanding. Plus, I think they're fun. Check out the list of emoticons for entertainment if you're so inclined.
:-)
i've always done my smiley face without a nose...poor thing. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. Some of them I knew, and others are/were a complete mystery.
ReplyDeleteMy son INSISTS that the smiley face does not require a nose. I, ever the purist, disagree...I have never met a face without a nose!
ReplyDeleteYes, the written word can easily be interpreted and these cuties can help in that regard.
I use emoticons once in a while. I have not made it a habit.
ReplyDeleteI don't use them, but at least I know what they are! Guess I am lazy and behind the times.
ReplyDeleteI love emoticons, but I mostly use them with my kids and grandkids in text messages. I remember attending a conference not long ago where images in texts were discussed as part of the written language of today. It was quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteI generally don't use emoticons. But, they do come in handy when what you said as a joke can be misconstrued as not a joke.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer a smily face to an LOL when wanting the reader to take what you write lightly.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there were so many different emoticons! See how out of it I am! :)
ReplyDeleteMy son, a while ago wrote something that upset me. When I called him on it, he said, "Jeez mom... didn't you see the smiley face at the end?" I was kidding.
ReplyDeleteOh pooh! Now I use those emoticons all the time.
Sorry Gigi, A smiley face does not need a nose - wouldn't be the same. I use them and also use the advanced animated ones. Sometimes they are most fitting at the end of a sentence or post, eh :)
ReplyDeleteI send lots of cat faces to my husband. And palm trees when we're planning trips. Yes, email emotions can be hard to fathom sometimes. My vice is the "!"
ReplyDeleteyep....they're a 'come in handy' as Bud and I call them.
ReplyDeleteI looked at that list and I would have no clue what somebody was trying to express with most of them--LOL! I'm a smiley face girl. :) :)
ReplyDeleteIt does help when tone of voice nor facial expression can convey intent.
ReplyDeleteMy smiley face has two parenthesis to indicate a big grin :))
There are soooooooooo many emoticons now....and they keep growing.
ReplyDeleteSending you a smile (without an emoticon....) Just a simple South Georgia smile.
Hugs,
J.
I'm embarrassed to admit ... I've never noticed. I promise to pay more attention! :-)
ReplyDeleteIndeed DJan...:)
ReplyDeleteSometimes I feel childish and a little ridiculous when I use emoticons, but they really do help prevent people misinterpreting the tone of some written communications. : )
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