Page 164 - SREENARAYANAGURU OPEN UNIVERSITY

Overall, the evolution of electronic and dig- ters, such as letters, numbers, and symbols, and
ital technology has had a significant impact on are used in a variety of digital platforms, such
our lives, transforming the way we communi- as email, instant messaging, and social media.
cate, work, and access information. As technol-
ogy continues to evolve, it will be interesting Emoticons were first used in the early days
to see how it continues to shape our world in of the internet as a way to convey emotions
the years to come. in text-based communication. They quickly
became popular and have since evolved into
4�2�2 Language and Cyberspace a wide range of different emoticons that are

Language and cyberspace have a unique used to express a variety of emotions, such as
and intricate relationship that has been evolv- happiness, sadness, surprise, and anger.
ing since the advent of the internet. The inter- Some of the most popular emoticons
net has provided a platform for individuals to include:
create new forms of communication and has
fundamentally transformed the way we use :) - Smiling face
language. In today’s digital age, language has :( - Sad face
taken on a new dimension as it is now used in
cyberspace in various forms, including written, :D - Grinning face
audio, and visual communication.
;) - Winking face
The rise of online communication plat-
forms, such as email, instant messaging, and :P - Sticking out tongue
social media, has significantly impacted the :O - Surprised face
way we interact with each other. These plat-
forms have given people from different parts :/ - Skeptical or unsure face
of the world the opportunity to communicate <3 - Heart symbol representing love or
in real-time, breaking down the barriers of time
and distance. With this development, language affection
has become more casual and conversational, Emoticons can also be combined to create
with a greater emphasis on brevity and speed. more complex expressions or emotions. For
As such, the impact of the internet on language example, a smiley face with tears of joy :’) is
cannot be underestimated, as it has given rise used to indicate laughter or amusement with
to new forms of language, such as emojis, a hint of sentimentality. Thus, emoticons are
hashtags, and memes, which have become an a fun and creative way to express emotions in
essential part of online communication. digital communication, and have become an
integral part of online culture.
4�2�2�1 Emoticons
Emoticons are combinations of keyboard 4�2�2�2 Emojis
characters that are used to represent facial Emojis, on the other hand, are graphical
expressions or emotions. Emoticons are graph- representations of emotions and objects that
ical representations of facial expressions or are used in digital communication. Emojis
emotions that are used to convey meaning are standardised across different platforms, so
in digital communication. They are typically an emoji on an iPhone will look the same as
made up of combinations of keyboard charac- an emoji on an Android phone or a computer.

158 SGOU - FYUGP - SLM - English for Communication