Emoji-onal dilemma
Has widespread use of emoticons hampered our language skills? Or has it given clarity to communication, as many say? Let’s have a look
By : elizabeth thomas
Update: 2015-09-19 00:31 GMT
It is said that a picture can speak thousand words. However, in the era of internet and smart phone, we can say that ‘a smiley can speak thousand emotions’. The smiling, laughing, crying, winking emojis and graphic stickers have captured the hearts of users and have become an integral part of our communication and language.
Whenever we send a message to a friend in WhatsApp, or Hike, to enhance the meaning, we either put an emoticon or a filmy sticker such as Ente Sire, Mandi Penne and Thomas Kutti Vittoda. Besides apps, it has found place in literary works and magazines. How far has emoticons transformed our communication and language?
“Right now, mostly youngsters like us talk through smileys. I have found two benefits of using emoticons. In this busy life, it helps us complete a talk quickly. Also, if I am not in a mood to talk to someone, I can manage the talk just by inserting smileys,” says Athira Mariam Daniel, a college student.
Spiya Wilson, her friend, concurs. “In direct conversation, there is no room for misunderstandings. But, in apps, sometimes, even if we say a joke, the other person may not get it properly as he is not seeing our facial expression. But, if we include an emoji with our message, it will give the other person a clear idea about what we mean. It can avoid unnecessary hurting,” she says, adding that she feels bad when the other person responds just with a smiling face during serious conversations.
According to Shilpa Mary Jose, emoticons can make a chat more beautiful and engaging. “But, only among friends. I just love chatting with my friends using emoticons and stickers with film dialogues. More than WhatsApp, Hike has got funny, filmy stickers to express our emotions. It is funny to tease our friends using comic stickers; it will make the conversation light and funny,” she says. In her opinion, smileys are not merely confined to messenger apps. “They have become a part of our life. I have seen magazines using it for articles such as ‘chat with celebs’. With smileys, it becomes quite an interesting experience to read. It tells us the feeling of that person while answering those questions. Also, there are t-shirts and mugs with smileys. So, smileys are there in our lives.”
Not just magazines, some novels too have made use of emoticons in text. Two books Oru Facebook Pranaya Katha and Manushyararian, published by DC Books had used smileys.
Will emoticons find a permanent place in our literary works? According to Ravi Dee Cee, one cannot give a concrete opinion on that. “It is purely contextual. These two books used them because the craft required it,” he says. “Conversation using emojis is still a semi-formal communication, which is confined to a particular section of people. And it is not widely used in literature. In future, with digitalisation and all, it could become a part of literature, but not in all sorts of books,” he adds.
According to the reporter of a magazine, emoticons won’t find a permanent place in the print medium. “It is only for youth-related and WhatsApp stories that we bring emoticons in the text. It is an effort to bring their language in our text. But, I don’t think emojis will find a permanent place in print medium,” she says.
Along with easiness, emoticons have brought adverse effect on language too. To Geethu Johny, Assistant Professor in Literature, Dept of Communicative English, St Teresa’s College, Kochi, it has reduced the writing, reading and listening capacity of students. “Since they are quite used to typing messages in short forms with emoticons, students don’t even know the spellings of certain words. They lack substance, writing speed and command over grammar. I was surprised to see students using these short forms even in university examination papers,” she says.