It's no secret that in the modern world there is no person who does not know what a smiley is. Perhaps many will be interested in how these funny symbols were born. Yes, and it will certainly be interesting to decipher emoticons, what exactly they mean.
What is a smiley?
Let's start with the definition itself. From English smiley is translated as "smiling". Thus, emoticons are stylized, schematic images of a smiling person. They are especially popular in Internet correspondence and SMS messages.
Traditionally, the smiley looks like a yellow circle, inside of which there are dotted eyes and a black arc denoting the mouth. The computer version of it looks almost the same. The only difference is the presence of a dash-hyphen, which is located between the eyes and mouth and denotes the nose. True, recently the abbreviated form has been used quite often, without a line in the middle. Today, the meaning of emoticons depends on the location of the arc and many other nuances.
When did emoticons appear?
Most sources claim that the smiley was first drawn by Harvey Bell, commissioned by one of the insurance companies. The firm wanted their logo to be not only memorable,but also inspired confidence in those who wish to use the services of the company. The artist received a $50 fee for this logo. At that time, many clients wondered: what do the emoticons on the badges of the company's employees mean?
But September 19, 1982 is considered the real birthday of this funny sign. It was then that Scott Fahlman proposed introducing a new symbol into the computer lexicon. The professor proposed to designate a smile with a colon, a hyphen and a closing bracket. Such a designation, according to scientists, was supposed to show that the message is humorous and should not be taken seriously. This is how his computer version appeared.
Why do we need emoticons?
Having learned how emoticons appeared, you probably wondered why they are needed? Have you ever asked yourself what a normal conversation consists of? Is it only from words? Of course not. In communication, we take into account not only words, but also intonation, gestures, and especially the facial expressions of the speaker.
But how to convey all this in correspondence, make it not so dry? Show the other person that you are sad or laughing, crying or joking? In fact, no way. Unless using emoticons.
We need these funny signs precisely in order to convey our feelings and sensations when the interlocutors do not see each other. Using them, you do not need to write long explanations, just write or draw a smiley, and everything becomes clear. They replace our intonation and facial expressions, and it has become simply necessary to use them when communicating on the Internet. If you andyour interlocutor is aware of what emoticons mean, then the conversation becomes much brighter and more interesting.
Rules for using emoticons
It would seem that the use of emoticons does not require the author to know any rules. But is it? Let's take a look at some tips from the netizens.
- First of all, they note that you cannot use emoticons without "eyes". That is, you should write::), and not just).
- Second, don't use multiple brackets. This may indicate that a person has multiple chins.
- Thirdly, it is noted that the “nose” part, that is, the dash, can always be skipped.
- Fourthly, emoticons themselves cannot be sculpted close to the text. There should be a space between the last word and the smile.
- Also, it replaces the dot, so don't think about putting a punctuation after or before the smiley.
- Also, many advise to refrain from using rare and incomprehensible emoticons. Not everyone can understand their meaning.
- You should also not use a lot of monotonous "smiles" at the end of a sentence or message. One or two is enough. You should know the measure even in the expression of emotions.
Smilies and their decoding
Probably, each of us is interested in the meaning of symbols to denote feelings. After all, knowing what emoticons mean, we can use them correctly. Here are some examples:
- :-):) - these two emoticons represent a smile;
- :(:-(- used forsymbols of sadness;
- =)=-) - these combinations express joy;
- :>:-> - this is how people grin or giggle on the Internet;
- :}:-} - and this is how sarcasm is expressed;
- ;);-) - if you want to wink at your interlocutor, choose one of these options;
- :-F - with this emoticon you can kiss your interlocutor;
- :S:- S - expresses embarrassment;
- >:(- these combinations express anger;
- ~:0 - these emoticons express horror;
- @--- is a rose that you can give to a friend.
Of course, this is not a complete list of emoticons used. There are a lot of them, some of them are quite difficult to understand without knowing their decoding. But in this article we have given the most common.
Well, now you know what emoticons mean and how to use them correctly. You also know the history of their origin, although it should be noted here that almost every second American attributes to himself the idea of creating emoticons. But we have given the most reliable and well-known versions. You also learned about how common emoticons are deciphered. We hope you found this article helpful.
