Colon, minus, parenthesis: How a computer scientist invented a digital symbol 40 years ago and its successors shaped today’s communication via text messages.
A joke indicator that wasn’t actually meant to be taken seriously? Sounds a bit weird, but it’s actually the beginning of a true story, namely that of digital smileys. The smiling face lying on its side began its triumphal march around the digital world from a US university on Monday, September 19, 1982, ie 40 years ago. In the meantime, it has become indispensable in text messages, mostly in the form of a finished, sometimes even animated, mini-image.
Smileys can avoid misunderstandings
In typed communication, so-called emojis – drawn faces, hand signals, hearts, etc. – play an important role. “They give an indication of how an utterance should be understood,” says linguist Erika Linz from the University of Bonn, who deals with language and communication in digital media. Text messages are missing those elements that make it clear in a conversation how someone means something: voice and intonation as well as facial expressions and gestures.
Symbols to avoid misunderstandings in digital conversations – that’s exactly what the typed laughing face of the American computer science professor Scott E. Fahlman should be. In 1982, computer scientists at his university in Pittsburgh sent messages to each other via Arpanet (the precursor of the Internet). At that time, they were posted on digital pinboards.
The community consisted exclusively of nerds with a penchant for sarcasm and weird humor, Fahlman said in an earlier this year Interview of the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. So there was a lot posted that was meant to be fun. But there was always someone who
did not understand the intention and wrote back indignantly. This resulted in verbal battles,” says the computer scientist.
The digital faces carry a nerve
To avoid this, there was a discussion about labeling jokes as such. Again, not entirely serious. On September 19, 1982, Fahlman posted his suggestion: a combination of a colon, minus, and closing parenthesis, along with a note to read it sideways. He actually only wanted to amuse the few people involved for a short time, he explained later. But apparently he hit a digital communication nerve. The lying smiley spread from the university via the Arpanet – and finally worldwide via the Internet.
In today’s text messages, so-called emojis, the successors to smileys, take on other functions in addition to expressing how you want to be understood. they served
regularly as punctuation marks, explains linguist Erika Linz. If, for example, an emoji is typed instead of a period, “it gets an expressive meaning”. In addition, the small characters ensure that communication becomes more economical, says the linguist. For example: thumbs up instead of a formulated answer.
Also interesting: Do you know the meaning of these emojis? Then prove yourself in our quiz!
Triumphant advance of smileys and emojis
If no picture is used, this can also be taken as a sign that someone is really serious about what has been written. According to Linz, people are aware of the types of messages in which they use emojis and in which they don’t. Her students recently analyzed how well-known personalities use the small symbols on Instagram. The result was that actors provided their posts with emojis much more often than politicians.
So serious only without symbols? Linz says: “I believe that in the long term this will be more of a formal communication. The triumph of emojis cannot be stopped.” However, what cannot be completely stopped with the small characters are misunderstandings. Because not all emojis are completely unique. And people use some in different contexts with different intentions. Fahlman’s lying laughing face praises himself. So for
causing much confusion or serious irritation is nearly impossible.