Language changes and evolves and always has. But that rate of change has escalated significantly thanks to technology – we can thank Twitter for making us more concise and the emoji for making words redundant altogether. Or can we?
In parliament last week, there was quite the discussion about exactly what this little fellow means:
When Julie Bishop used him/her/it to describe Valdimir Putin. We refer you to this from a Senate estimates hearing….
“I’d like to understand what the diplomatic message is of the red face?” Senator Wong asked officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“Is it intended to suggest the Foreign Minister is angry at President Putin? Or does it express something else? What is the statement or public message of the red face? We don’t like him? We’re angry at him?”
DFAT officials said they would take the question on notice, meaning they would investigate and respond at a later date.This tickled Labor Senator Sam Dastyari.”So formally you’re taking on notice what does an angry face emoji mean?” he asked, chuckling.
“It’s pretty funny,” Senator Wong said.
“It’s red – not angry,” interjected Senator Brandis.
“It’s red and angry,” Senator Dastyari replied. “The red is symbolic of angry – that’s my interpretation.”
Senator Wong: “If I get this from my younger sister it usually means I’ve done something wrong.”
Senator Brandis had another theory.
“It could be a reference to ideology,” he suggested.
Was the Foreign Minister suggesting President Putin was a “red” like his Communist predecessors Lenin and Stalin?
TLB director Deb Lemcke has always been a staunch avoider of the emoji but recently conceded their potential usefulness in helping some people to understand her occasionally sarcastic tone.
According to a research study earlier this year, Austalians use the monkey emoji more than any other and are the biggest users of alcohol based emojis in the world. So, what say you? Is there an emoji that you love to use? Are they really better than words or just lazy?
