Cultural differences: Emoticons

The National Geographic has a nice page (PDF) displaying QWERTY emoticons from the eastern and western hemispheres.

Note the emphasis on the mouth in the West and the eyes in the East.

Emotion/West/East

Happy            : – )       (^ _ ^)

Sad                : – (      (; _ ;)

Surprised      : O        (* o *)

Winking         ; – )      (^ _ ~)

Laughing      : D         (^ o ^)

Then there are those emotions frequently needed in the east, but not the west.

Blushing             (# ^ . ^ #)

Embarrassed      (^ ^ ;)

Apologizing         m ( _ _ ) m

And what’s the significance of the need to tilt your head to read western QWERTY emoticons, but the eastern ones are looking straight at you? Not what I’d expect culturally. But perhaps the difference here is that the western versions require fewer keystrokes – we’re in more of a hurry.

The Geographic points out that emoticons date back to 1881, when the American magazine Puck published “Typographical Art” for melancholy, indifference, astonishment, and joy. Emotions a bit more subtle than the ubiquitous smiley face, no?

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Resources:

Photo source: stylehive

Say it with parentheses, National Geographic, July 2010 (PDF)