Seema Mody, “Emojis: The Death of the Written Language?” (CNBC, June 24, 2015)
The growing use of these icons could potentially lead to further miscommunication. Ben Zimmer, executive editor of Vocabulary.com, says it’s the emoji’s ambiguous meaning that could lead to confusion because users can look at an emoji and take different things from it.
Here’s one example Zimmer provided: the emoji that illustrates two folded hands. According to Zimmer, this emoji started in Japan where the symbol represented salutation or gratitude. Other cultures interpret this emoji to symbolize prayer, while millennials often see this symbol belonging to two different people giving each other a high five.
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