Innovation in Language Learning

This paper will report on the findings of a research project investigating the semantic and pragmatic variation of a number of emojis as used by a group of undergraduate university students. The findings - in line with previous research - indicate that (i) different emojis are associated with different sentiments and different users may also attach different sentiments to the same emoji and these may vary between predominantly positive, negative and neutral; (ii)  emojis can be used as part of various language functions and speech acts; and (iii) emojis display an illocutionary force having the ability to soften, reinforce or make a message less formal. When regarding emoji as semiotic signs and investigating how they function according to Peirce’s Triadic Model (Peirce 1994), it emerged that emoji’s can display iconic (e.g. uncertainty, ignorance, confusion), indexical and symbolic functions depending on the context. In essence, the use of emoji is never without reason or motivation. It is used intentionally to ensure the receiver understands the textual utterance in the right context. Emojis are linguistic elements; they have specific roles in various language functions, plays an important role in meaning-making, and convey meaning and intentions in new and creative ways.This opens up new possibilities for research into the value of this type of research for the teaching of semantics and pragmatics to young undergraduate students who themselves are very familiar to the use of emojis.