Lost In Translation: Study Finds Interpretation Of Emojis Can Vary Widely

[HuckleB]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/12/473965971/lost-in-translation-study-finds-interpretation-of-emojis-can-vary-widely

"Emojis were supposed to be the great equalizer: a language all its own capable of transcending borders and cultural differences.

Not so fast, say a group of researchers who found that different people had vastly different interpretations of some popular emojis. The researchers published their findings for GroupLens, a research lab based out of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

"I think some people thought that they could use [emojis] with little risk and what we found is that it actually is at high risk of miscommunication," Hannah Miller, a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota and one of the authors of the study, said in a phone interview.

For example, the researchers found that when people receive the "face with tears of joy" emoji — which Oxford Dictionaries declared its word of the year — some interpret it positively, while others will interpret it negatively.

..."


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Interpret away!

[Quantess]

1. "face with tears of joy"

I always interpreted it as "laughing so hard I'm crying"

And I wonder, what the heck is so funny?

[HuckleB]

2. Laughter is healthy!

Right!?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. I can see how the Apple 'grinning face with smiling eyes' gets a negative rating

because it looks more like a grimace than a grin. The Apple designer seems to have forgotten that people expect a mouth to turn up at the sides to express happiness.