The Use of Emojis in Written ELF Communication through Social Network Sites by Thai and Non-Thai Communicators
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research aims to address the gap regarding the use of emojis in written EMC. Specifically, the study seeks to 1) Identify the most and least commonly used emojis in online ELF communication by Thai and non-Thai users, 2) Explore how people utilize these emojis in digital conversations, and 3) Examine whether there are significant differences in emoji usage between the two groups. The study employed a survey methodology to explore their usage patterns and emotional responses toward emojis. The results revealed that the emoji ‘Face with tears of joy’ was the most frequently selected, while the ‘Eggplant’ emerged as the least utilized. Additionally, the findings suggest that facial expression emojis demonstrate significant versatility in conveying a wide array of meanings; the analysis revealed a notable level of consensus in the emotional interpretation of emojis among the participants. The nature of the relationship between the communicators influences the emoji usage patterns. In summary, most participants, irrespective of nationality, preferred incorporating emojis in communication with friends, underscoring the social function of these digital symbols in informal, interpersonal exchanges. Also, the additional findings from the interviews have implications for enhancing intercultural communication strategies and promoting successful interactions among diverse communicators in the evolving realm of EMC.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
References
Arafah, S., & Hasyim, R. (2019). The use of emojis in WhatsApp chats among Indonesian millennials. Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 14(2), 151-168.
Bai, Y., Zhang, L., Chen, L., & Yang, Y. (2019). A Review of Emojis: Design, Usage, Semiotics, and Rhetoric. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 35(4-5), 383-401.
Baker, W. (2015). Culture and identity through English as a Lingua Franca: rethinking concepts and goals in intercultural communication. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Balahur, A., & Turchi, M. (2015). Multilingual sentiment analysis using emojis (pp. 47-53). In Proceedings of the 6th Workshop on Computational Approaches to Subjectivity, Sentiment and Social Media Analysis.
Chui, S. (2020a). A Comparative Study of the Interpretations of Emojis in Between U.S. and Chinese Users. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(3), 108-118.
Chui, S. (2020b). The Semiotics of Emojis: A Comparative Study of Chinese and US Audiences. Journal of Visual Literacy, 39(2), 130-143.
Cogo, A. (2009). Accommodating difference in ELF Conversations: A study of pragmatic strategies English as a Lingua Franca (pp. 254-273). In A. Mauranen & E. Ranta (Eds.), English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Cogo, A., & House, J. (2017). Intercultural Pragmatics. In Barron, A., Gu, Y., & Steen, G. (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxon: Routledge.
Derks, D., Fischer, A. H., & Bos, A. E. R. (2008). The role of emotion in computer-mediated communication: A review. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(3), 766-785.
Donato, G., and Paggio, P. (2017). Exploring Emoji Usage Across Languages with Visualization Techniques (pp. 1-10). In Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Emoji Understanding and Applications in Social Media. Association for Computational Linguistics.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ekman, P. (2022). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and emotional life. Holt Paperbacks.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4.
Firth, A. (1996). The discursive accomplishment of normality: On “lingua franca” English and conversation analysis. Journal of Pragmatics, 26(2), 237-259.
George, A., George, H., & Baskar, T. (2023). Emoji Unite: Examining the Rise of Emoji as an International Language Bridging Cultural and Generational Divides. Partners Universal International Innovation Journal, 1(4), 183-204.
Gullberg, K. (2016). Laughing face with tears of joy: A study of the production and interpretation of emojis among Swedish University Students
Guntuku, S. C., Li, M., Tay, L., & Ungar, L. H. (2019). Studying Cultural Differences in Emoji Usage across the East and the West.
Hand, C., Reed, L., and Jones, R. (2022). A Computational Linguistic Analysis of Emoji Use Across Social Media Platforms. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 27(1), 103-119.
Hertel, G., Geister, S., & Konradt, U. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research. Human Resource Management Review, 15(1), 69-95.
Jenkins, J. (2006). Current Perspectives on Teaching World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 157-181.
Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39(10), 1123-1134.
Kotarputh, R. (2020). Pragmatic strategies and politeness in email exchanges by business English as a lingua franca (BELF) users in a Thai higher education setting: Managing miscommunication, enhancing intercultural communication and indicating levels of formality (Doctoral dissertation). United Kingdom: University of Southampton.
Lin, C. A., & Atkin, D. J. (2007). Communication technology and social change: Theory and implications. Routledge.
Lin, K. Y., & Lu, H. P. (2011). Why people use Social Networking sites: An empirical study integrating network externalities and motivation theory. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1152-1161.
Lu, X., Ai, W., Liu, X., Li, Q., Wang, N., Huang, G., & Mei, Q. (2016). Learning from the ubiquitous language. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing.
Luor, T., Wu, L., Lu, H.-P., & Tao, Y.-H. (2010). The effect of emoticons in simplex and complex task-oriented communication: An empirical study of instant messaging. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(5), 889-895.
Macourková, A. (2022). Emojis in online communication: A study of the most frequently used emojis on WhatsApp in the Czech Republic. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 41(1), 92-107.
Maier, E. (2021). Emojis as pictures. Retrieved from https://philpapers.org/rec/MAIEAP-3
Matsumoto, D., Yoo, S. H., Hirayama, S., & Petrova, G. (2018). Are Smileys and Emojis Creating a New Language for the Young? The Processes of Intergenerational Communication in the Smartphone Age. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 16(4), 405-422.
Mauranen, A. (2006). Signaling and preventing misunderstanding in English as lingua franca communication. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, (177), 123-150.
Novak, K. P., Smailović, J., Sluban, B., & Mozetič, I. (2015). Sentiment of Emojis. PLOS ONE, 10(12).
Prada, M., Garrido, M., Rodrigues, D., & Lopes, D. (2018). Emojis predict psychological well-being, personality, and social relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2201.
Prisco, J. (2018). Shigetaka Kurita: The man who invented emoji. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/emoji-shigetaka-kurita-standards-manual/index.html
Ravi, S. (2023). Emoji perception and interpretation by users in different cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 85, 135-144.
Rugchatjaroen, A. (2021). Thai language tweet emotion prediction based on use of emojis. Journal of Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences.
Seidlhofer, B. (2011). Understanding English as a Lingua Franca. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Seidlhofer, B., & Berns, M. (2009), Perspectives on English as a lingua franca: introduction. World Englishes, 28, 190-191.
Sick, N., Gabay, S., & Chiluwa, I. (2020). Emojify-ing Facebook comments: Patterns of emoji use and interpretation in communicating emotions in a Nigerian Facebook group. Discourse, Context & Media, 38, 100438.
Trakulkasemsuk, W. (2015). English in Thailand: From EFL to ELF. International Conference on Language and Communication, 226-251.
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Tantor Media.
Vinagre, M. (2008). Politeness strategies in collaborative e-mail exchanges. Computers and Education, 50, 1022-1036.
Walther, J. B., & Parks, M. R. (2002). Cues filtered out, cues filtered in: Computer-mediated communication and relationships. Handbook of Interpersonal Communication, 3, 529-563.
Weissman, B. (2019). Peaches and eggplants or something else? The role of context in emoji interpretations. In Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America, 4(1), 29.
Zappavigna, M., & Logi, L. (2021) Emoji in social media discourse about working from home. Discourse, Context & Media, 44, 100543
