Abstract:
This study is a multimodal discourse analysis of emojis in selected WhatsApp chats. The data consisted of naturally occurring conversations among participants on selected religious WhatsApp groups. It focuses on the different usages and interpretations which a particular emoji can generate. Aside the chats collected, a questionnaire was objectively designed to collect data from participants in line with the research objectives. The result reveals that emojis are capable of generating various interpretations depending on the user and context of use. Particular emojis can depict silence, anxiety, reverence, love and excitement. Through emojis one can understand the mood, disposition and attitudes of people; friends and sundry users of android phones and subscribers of the WhatsApp social media platform. This study has attempted to contribute to knowledge in the study of emojis and communicative images in the new media spaces. The relevance of images in WhatsApp chats or conversations has been revealed to be for communicative, educative and entertainment purposes. However, the positive and negative implications of this communicative technology have been cautiously emphasised.
Keywords: Emoji, WhatsApp, Communication, technology, relationship, Multi-modal Discourse
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author/Josephine Olushola Oyinbo & Kaseem Oladimeji Olaniyi
journal/Zamfara IJOH Vol. 1 Issue 3
pdf-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1affqJyUMtux2f2AqcvEHNLU8giYEQvZE/view?usp=share_link
paper-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1affqJyUMtux2f2AqcvEHNLU8giYEQvZE/view?usp=share_link
