Emoticons

I heard on NPR on September 19, 2012, that it was the 30th birthday of the emoticon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon.  Emoticons are keystroke symbols that came into use to express emotions consistent with the intent of the cybermessage being sent.

Since the advent of emoticons, things have become more elaborate, and there all kinds of cybersymbols that can be used to express feelings or ideas, even.  Some of these are available through symbol fonts, some are available as part of font functions, some can be attached based on a program that supports the symbols.

I rarely use these. I do not usually text, and emoticons are popular for texters. I sometimes chat, but rarely. I do not like the abbreviated spelling of texting and chatting, and I do not like the emoticons.  I think we should spell out what we want to say.

But, I am reminded that the English language is constantly changing.  The old English of Beowulf is not the English of the 21st century. And the English of the United Kingdom is not the English of Canada, or the United States, or Australia, or  New Zealand. We need to be flexible about the English language. And respect the expressions of those who use various symbols of expression.