Abstract

This paper presents a multidisciplinary approach to emoji, small colorful pictograms widely used in text messages, social networks and websites. In particular, it outlines two teaching activities on the use of emoji outside their usual context —computer-mediated communication. These tasks are suitable for undergraduate or graduate students of linguistics, communication or journalism. In the first case a corpus of news about emoji is examined and a reflection on the superiority of normative writing in our culture is presented. In the second activity three advertising campaigns that exploit these pictograms to target young consumers are analyzed. Focusing on such an everyday element of digital communication, this cross-disciplinary approach to emoji could be the basis for creative and strongly motivating teaching activities for university students.