Emoji vs. Hieroglyphs: A primitive form of language?
We checked out what lies behind the fear that Emojis are taking over the world and replacing our language with “primitive” hieroglyphs
6 Billion Emojis are sent via mobile messaging apps worldwide. Take a step back and try to imagine social media, instant messaging or even Billboards without them. Nearly impossible.
We’ve written about the subject and demonstrated that in our view, Emojis are not the end of texting or of modern language communication. But simply another form of coded communication which enhances writing. Still, people feel uneasy when thinking about the emotional pictograms. The fear? Well, Emojis are taking us back to a darker more primitive time. Often you’ll find them being compared to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Both the Guardian and the BBC made a big point trying to prove that the smiley’s of the world might replace Shakespeare English:
“As a visual language emoji has already far eclipsed hieroglyphics, its ancient Egyptian precursor which took centuries to develop.” — Prof Vyv Evans, Bangor University for the Guardian
Ye Olde Egyptian…
Hieroglyphics are considered to be one of the oldest forms of written language, dating back to somewhere between 3300–3200BC. The term itself was coined by the ancient Greeks and described the ‘sacred carvings’ on Egyptian monuments. The word for hieroglyphics in Egyptian translates to mean ‘the word of the gods’. But let’s get back to it, shall we?
Well, first things first hieroglyphs are not emoji’s. Not even close. In fact, Emoji’s are what we call pictograms, meaning a picture “that resembles what it signifies.” An example of this would be the icon for a restroom. While hieroglyphs are what linguists would call a logogram, a writing system that is composed of written characters that make up a word.They can also be used phonetically to compose parts of words or entire words.
So looking back, ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics as a way to capture ideas, as well as to communicate with other members of their society. To be even more accurate hieroglyphics combined logographic and alphabetic elements.
Furthermore, hieroglyphs were reserved for royal elites and used exclusively in religious texts, royal documents and the recording of important events (hunting, spells, historical documentation and such).
Ain’t nobody got time for that logographic writing
Media likes to create apocalyptic scenarios, where in 10 years writing will be completely eclipsed by stickers or emojis, while feeling the need to point out the devolution of the English language. English doesn’t even hail from a logographic language and is in fact based on the Latin alphabet which itself hails from Semitics. If you then dig deeper you’ll find out that, Semitic languages originate from Ancient Egyptian yes — but NOT Ancient Egyptian as in hieroglyphs, Egyptian as in hieratic writing. Egyptian hieratic writing is something completely different and in fact didn’t replace or evolve from hieroglyphs cause it existed simultaneously. Which means ancient Egyptians dudes used both writing systems at the same time, in fact preferring hieratic writing due to being easier and faster to write, while the logographic system proved more complicated.
As pointed out above, hieroglyphs were used in official documentations with carving and writing being more intricate and time-costly. Herein also lie the similarities between emoji/writing & hieroglyphs/hieratic writing. Emojis and hieroglyphs have specific functions and are used with a specific cultural intention. When writing official mails to one’s boss, we wouldn’t go: 🤔🔥📚. The same way as no old Egyptian scribe would take the time to fill a papyrus roll with hieroglyphs — even if Hollywood wants you to think they would.
What about Emojis?
Linguists compare the use of emojis to nonhuman animal communication. Such as for example birdsong which conveys certain warnings, has a mating function or lets other birds know where the other chirper currently is at. But the communication is limited to that and cannot express emotions and does not possess any grammatical system, well not that we know of. Hence, it doesn’t function as language per se. Furthermore, Emojis lack the cultural significance and impact of hieroglyphs,which were designed to preserve a culture.
Lastly, there is the linguistic aspect, emojis are pictograms — they convey meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms/graphs or simply Picto’s are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters like the name says graphic in appearance. They do not function as a writing placeholder. Each emoji represents an idea, rather than a specific word and they should be understood as a whole.
Still, Emojis are fun and a great form of communication that can add creativity and uniqueness to the conversation. And yet, don’t worry doomsday kids, they’ll never replace the written word and our civilisation will not be remembered through them. Duh!
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Beluga helps fast-moving companies to translate their digital contents. With more than a decade of experience, professional linguists in all major markets and the latest translation technology at use, Beluga is a stable partner of many of the most thriving enterprises in the technology sector. The business goal: To help fast-growing companies offer their international audiences an excellent and engaging user experience.
