Emoticon and Text Production in First and Second Languages in Informal Text Communication (original) (raw)

Conventional Faces: Emoticons in Instant Messaging Discourse

Computers and Composition, 2011

This study investigated the emoticon in situ and attempted to examine emoticons in their own right as conventions of IM discourse, rather than comparing emoticons to Standard English (SE), written or spoken. We analyzed a corpus of naturally occurring IM conversations in order to uncover the conventions of emoticon use, including frequency, type, and placement. Our analysis illustrates that IM users access a shared body of knowledge about the types of emoticons they employ and also appear to rely on that body of knowledge to determine where they place emoticons within an utterance. We also suggest that examining the emoticon as a meaningful linguistic unit reveals that seemingly idiosyncratic uses of the emoticon may have rhetorical significance. We suggest that treating computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a language independent of SE is more generative toward theorizing CMC conventions. Knowledge of CMC conventions may help scholars and teachers to more fully understand adolescent literate practices.

Emoticons in computer-mediated communication: Social motives and social context

CyberPsychology & …, 2008

The study consisted of an online questionnaire about the social motives for emoticon use and an experimental part in which participants (N ‫؍‬ 1,251) had to respond to short Internet chats. In these chats, the interaction partner (friend vs. stranger) and the valence of the context (positive vs. negative) were manipulated. Results showed that emoticons are mostly used to express emotion, to strengthen a message, and to express humor. Furthermore, more emoticons were used in communication with friends than in communication with strangers, and more emoticons were used in a positive context than in a negative context. Participants seem to use emoticons in a way similar to facial behavior in face-to-face communication with respect to social context and interaction partner.

Emoticons and social interaction on the Internet: the importance of social context

Computers in Human Behavior, 2007

The present study examines the influence of social context on the use of emoticons in Internet communication. Secondary school students (N = 158) responded to short internet chats. Social context (task-oriented vs. socio-emotional) and valence of the context (positive vs. negative) were manipulated in these chats. Participants were permitted to respond with text, emoticon or a combination of both. Results showed that participants used more emoticons in socio-emotional than in task-oriented social contexts. Furthermore, students used more positive emoticons in positive contexts and more negative emoticons in negative contexts. An interaction was found between valence and kind of context; in negative, task-oriented contexts subjects used the least emoticons. Results are related to research about the expression of emotions in face-to-face interaction.

The Use of Symbols (Emoticons) in Social Media: A Shift of Language from Words to Symbols

2020

Emojis is the fast-growing language in the world, attracting viewers and has a great impact on their minds. This research aims at exploring how the use of emoticons leads to the emergence of a new universal language preferred by youth, thus, inviting a shift from words to other symbols. This study is proceeding from a quantitative survey analysis of the international students at Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus. A questionnaire was designed to conduct a survey and to collect data for this study. The relationship is measured by using a statistical correlation test. For the sample, 100 hundred students from different departments of the university were randomly selected. A proportionate sampling method of sampling technique was used to collect the data. It was found that social media has provided a platform for the use of emojis that not only makes communication easy and more user friendly but also adds to understanding in different age groups.

Emoticons as multifunctional and pragmatic Resources: a corpus-based Study on Twitter

2017

Emoticons play an important role in digital written communication: they can serve as markers either of emotions or social relationship and familiarity, and they can intensify or downgrade the pragmatic force of a text. The aim of this study is to investigate the use of emoticons in Twitter by Italian users, and to verify, by relying on corpus data and on statistical methodologies, some of the prevailing opinions on the use of emoticons: that they are technically-driven resources, that they are mostly used by young people, and more often by females, and that they are superficial and easy ways of expressing emotions using images instead of words. A mixed-effects model analysis has shown that the use of emoticons on Twitter is affected by a complex interaction of cultural, technological, situational and sociolinguistic variables.

The Use of Emoticons among University Students: A Pragmatic Study

Emoticons , 2019

The current study aims to find out the possible ways that university students from scientific departments at (college of basic education-Salahaddin University-Erbil) make use of Emoticons when they communicate using any online medium that is applicable for communication. Questionnaire is used as an effective tool for data collection. This study attempts to find whether they can differentiate between emoticons and emoji , and the situations in which university students use emoticons in academic communication or in socio-emotional communication, the study also tries to find whether females use emoticons more than males or viceversa. The results indicate that participants were aware of the differences that exist between emoticons and emoji besides the readers of this study would expect certain results, including that females use emoticons more than males.

AT FACE VALUE: WHY DO INDIVIDUAL STUDENT USE EMOTICONS WITHIN TEXT-BASED ONLINE ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

This paper will focus on ways in which students use emoticons in text-based online academic discussions to add context. A literature study of the use of emoticons reveals common themes around user-defined functions. Emoticons are more than words alone, making it easier to convey feelings by allowing emotional distance and still showing vulnerability. Emoticons clarify meaning; a smiley face can transform an apparently negative statement into something more approachable, or a winking face may hint at sarcasm with a statement that is overtly positive. In online discussions, emoticons are being used more often, yet few studies deal with the reasons individual students use emoticons within text-based online academic discourse. In a virtual discussion, emoticons convey social presence and conventions of politeness which humanize discourse and increase positive engagement. Emoticons also serve academic functions, such as allowing the user to indicate agreement or willingness to share resources, or introducing a new perspective. Students are not haphazard when they use emoticons; emoticons are used deliberately for an intended effect.

Relationships between emoticon usage and recipient groups in students' text messages

Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Information Integration and Web-based Applications & Services, 2020

Emoticons are pictographic representations of facial expressions that are used to convey emotions in text messages and other similar methods of communication. Most research on emoticons has examined how they are used in public forums rather than in private messaging. Using a sample of undergraduate students (n=106; male 52.83%; mean age 20.26 years, SD 1.93), this study examines the use of emoticons in private text communication. Results reveal that emoticon usage is highest amongst friends, followed by siblings, then parents, other family members and more distant connections. Emoticons representing positive emotions are more commonly used than those representing strong negative emotions. Emoticons representing relief were found to be used particularly within peer group communication, whereas emoticons representing contentment were used more with family members and other, more distant, connections. The use of the "Relieved" emoticon with peers may reflect overcoming the stressors associated with shared educational challenges, whereas using the "Content" emoticon outside peers and family may represent emotional modulation and presentation.