The Semiotics of Emoji

Description

Emoji have gone from being virtually unknown to being a central topic in internet communication. What is behind the rise and rise of these winky faces, clinking glasses and smiling poos? Given the sheer variety of verbal communication on the internet and English’s still-controversial role as lingua mundi for the web, these icons have emerged as a compensatory universal language. The Semiotics of Emoji looks at what is officially the world's fastest-growing form of communication. Emoji, the colourful symbols and glyphs that represent everything from frowning disapproval to red-faced shame, are fast becoming embedded into digital communication. Controlled by a centralized body and regulated across the web, emoji seems to be a language: but is it? The rapid adoption of emoji in such a short span of time makes it a rich study in exploring the functions of language. Professor Marcel Danesi, an internationally-known expert in semiotics, branding and communication, answers the pertinent questions. Are emoji making us dumber? Can they ultimately replace language? Will people grow up emoji literate as well as digitally native? Can there be such a thing as a Universal Visual Language? Read this book for the answers. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface Chapter 1 Emoji and Writing Systems Origins of emoji Writing systems Writing as social practice Stylization Research method  Chapter 2 Emoji Uses  Phatic function Emotive function Standardization Ambiguity Culture coding Chapter 3 Emoji Competence General features The emoji code Core emoji The peripheral lexicon Compression Chapter 4 Emoji Semantics The thesaurus effect Framing Connotation Facial emoji Blending The power of images Chapter 5 Emoji Grammar Calquing Conceptualization Syntactics Rebus writing Overview Chapter 6 Emoji Pragmatics Pragmatic competence Salutation  Punctuation  Other pragmatic functions  Some relevant questions and findings Chapter 7 Emoji Variation Cross-cultural variation Usage according to nation Cultural coding Visuality Adjacency pair variation Cartoon-style literacy Chapter 8 Emoji Spread Emoji-only writing Emoji translations Emoji in advertising Effort Chapter 9 Universal Languages Artificial languages Blissymbolics The emoji code Chapter 10 A Communication Revolution? The global village Emoji as trend The future of emoji References Index