Emoji are an established part of digital life. Still, few of us think about them in terms of linguistics. “As a system of communication, they leave English, the world’s global language, in the dust,” says Dr. Vyvyan Evans, language expert and digital communication technologist. Evans, who wrote The Emoji Code in 2017, insists that there is much to learn from eggplant and “crying-laughing” emoji about the way humans communicate. OKECHUKWU NZELU: Is emoji a language? This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-One Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 48 Google Brain An inquiry into digital amnesia. Arts & Culture Issue 47 That’s Life The quiet tyranny of clichés. Arts & Culture Issue 45 The Whole Story The power of cradle-to-grave novels. Arts & Culture Issue 42 Dream House The rise of renderporn. Arts & Culture Issue 40 Report: The Diigitals Meet the human running the first digital supermodel agency. Arts & Culture Issue 38 Social Work Hettie O’Brien considers the cost of never logging off.
Arts & Culture Issue 40 Report: The Diigitals Meet the human running the first digital supermodel agency.