Are emojis ruining or enriching the English Language? :)

Hi guys,

I'm here again with another blog post!! This weeks' topic is all about emojis, do you love a cheeky emoji from time to time? I know i do! However, some people are looking further into how emojis are coming into conversations these days and becoming more of a necessity for language. I'll be exploring various articles questioning the matter of emojis.

Firstly, emojis haven't just been what we know and love today, on android and Apple there are a range of smiley faces to incorporate into texts and messages, captions and comments, though years before this we would write or type a ":)" to suggest that we were happy/smiley about something and a ":(" to give the impression that we're sad or disappointed. Then these were so highly appreciated it evolved into a range or 'smilies' with angry, happy, sad, shocked, laughing, confused, winking, partying. Here are some emoticons from MSN Messenger from around the year 2000.

Back then, the MSN emoticons were great. They helped you say things without needing to type it all out. Just like will emojis, how can they be ruining language when the point of any language is to understand each other? With emoticons and emojis they really describe your emotions and how you are feeling. For example a winky face ";)" may hint that the sender is joking about something or it can be seen as flirting! It's a great way to either get the person to realise you're just messing around like in person you would say the 'joke' while laughing or with some sort of jokey, sneaky face or emotion that they would understand whereas texting is a bit different.

For example the sentence "What are you doing this weekend?;)" would suggest to the recipient that they may be implying they would like to do something with them at the weekend for example go on a date. However without the wink, someone may just see it as normal conversational chit-chat.

Also when talking to friends lets imagine someone said "Do you like my new bag?" Then the friend replies with "It's disgusting" the friend would feel extremely upset most likely. However if the friend sent "It's disgusting;)" the friend would obviously know it's a joke and they do like the bag really!

Anyway, enough of the history of emojis. It's all about the present now. Currently there are topics arising with the dependency on emojis in text. Some people are finding it lazy and stupid to put a face instead of finding the effort to type or write words!! For example an article on Huffington Post displays this quote:

"I am deeply offended by them." Maria McErlane, a British journalist, actress and radio personality told The New York Times in 2011. "If anybody on Facebook sends me a message with a little smiley-frowny face ... I will de-friend them ... I find it lazy. Are your words not enough?"

I think this shows how emojis aren't for everyone. Some people may always prefer words to faces to describe how they feel, these people may also suggest that it is ruining English language. This is because as we write less and less words as they are replaced by faces it results in us being more and more illiterate. Although, do i agree? Not really. I think it shows what type of person you are if you fancy sending a cheeky smiley from time to time!! But I do understand sometimes emojis can feel like they are being put way too much, way too often.

Next, from the same article, another quote opposes this showing emojis in a very postive light:

"It's like you're a speaker of some primitive Japanese picture language with only three hundred some odd words and your vocabulary just DOUBLED."

This is suggesting that emojis are extremely helpful for expressing yourself and your views especially when testing a friend. To compare it to doubling vocabulary is a strong view however it is true, they can display how you feel with a few little pictures than many words also they really put emphasis into the conversation.

Another quote from the same article suggests that emojis again, are great, one person says "WAIT A SECOND! There are NEW EMOJIS for iOS6 and I can't even begin to explain my excitement ...There's a family and a bride, which I'll never use except wishfully, and gay and lesbian couples ... And there is a tongue...."

This person was obviously very excited about the new update. Even more on topic there was a recent emoji update just a couple of dfays ago! It contains more hand gestures (even a rude one that shouldn't really be on there) and plenty of others for Apple product owners to get!!

In conclusion, I don't think emojis are ruining the English Language at all. I mean it's not like students go into exams and expect to be able to draw some smiley faces and get their ideas across! Teenagers know the time and place to use them and when it is appropriate. It helps to separate formal from informal and can enrich the conversation, definitely not ruin it. For example people that are shy might find it easier to send faces which would represent their expressions than to have to struggle and find words to suit their emotions. Although on the other hand it might discourage people from trying to spell words which then may lead to spelling mistakes when at school as they don't practice at home. Many people although tend to use '"text speak" for example "C U soon 2morrow" which isn't enriching there english language any more so than an emoji. I think emojis are great from time to time and i think it's somebody's own person preference and opinion to whether they want to put them into their messages and texts. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.