People create their own ‘secret languages' using EMOJI when they can't put their thoughts into words
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Loading... - VERONICA GUTIERREZ
- 07 Feb 2021
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The saying goes ‘a picture tells a thousand words’, and it seems that this may be true - when it comes to emoji.
A new study by researchers from Goldsmith’s, University of London, has found that people create their own ‘secret languages’ using emoji when they can’t put their thoughts into words.
In the study, the researchers asked 134 participants about how they use emoji when texting.
Seventy-two respondents said they repurposed emoji, with 21 per cent using them to express affection, 19 per cent using them to symbolise a person or pet, and seven per cent using them to refer to sex.
Dr Sarah Wiseman, co-author of the study, said: “While we know some fruit and vegetable emoji have been repurposed by many people to mean something else, we were intrigued to find out about personal instances of this – examples of emoji that have a special meaning for just two people.
“Often this was about more than just typing something more quickly: people found that by using emoji they could convey very complex meanings and thoughts with them that could not be described in words.”
In the participants’ secret languages, the pizza or cheese emoji meant ‘I love you’ (because these were foods people love), while a bathtub emoji meant a coffin (because it was the closest to a coffin shape).
Meanwhile a thinking face meant ‘lesbian’ (because the position of the thumb and forefinger on the chin means ‘lesbian’ in American Sign Language).
The most commonly repurposed emoji was the octopus, while the symbol used most to display affection was the penguin.
Dr Wiseman added: “Our study shows that people use emoji in a similar way to nicknames or slang, as a handy shortcut to what they mean, which through consistent use creates an intimate ‘secret language’ others don’t understand.
“Creators of emoji need to bear in mind the subtle way that people repurpose them and the impact even small visual changes to them could have on these alternative meanings.”
