On-line poster presentation (non-members eligible if recommended by a SIETAR member) Difference in Use and Interpretation of Emoji Between Japanese and Americans: Coloring Communication or Creating Misunderstandings more

Sun, Nov 28, 12:30-14:20 Asia/Tokyo

In this digital society, Emoji are widely used worldwide. The advent of Emoji was revolutionary in that they completely transformed online communication. However, besides their convenience of use, problems occur when using them in international communication. Since Emoji were originally created from the Japanese point of view, it means that they may cause misunderstandings in international communication. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the differences in Emoji interpretation between Americans and Japanese, and to find a way to eliminate misunderstandings in communication using Emoji. In this study, a mixed methods approach of qualitative and quantitative research was employed to investigate the interpretations of Emoji. An online questionnaire-based survey was conducted for 50 American nationals and 50 Japanese nationals to collect their Emoji interpretations. The researchers asked the participants to describe their interpretations of four Emoji representing certain objects (🗼, 🎡, 🗻, etc.), and seven Emoji representing facial expressions (😬, 😡, 😒, etc.). In addition, the researchers set a multiple-choice question about the use of Emoji and a descriptive question, to which the participants could freely respond regarding their experience of miscommunication when using Emoji. Moreover, interviews were employed to ask participants’ opinions about Emoji. The results revealed that, cultural backgrounds could influence the interpretations of Emoji.