Emoticon
(Vera bursts into the studioshe is not happysound of door opening abruptly)
Rob: | What's happened Vera? You don't look very happy. |
Vera: | Of course I'm not happy. I've just read the email you sent saying if I don't come to the studio soon you are going to present the programme by yourself ... |
Rob: | That's right. |
Vera: | And then you wrote: "With my beautiful voice, nobody will miss yours." That's a horrible thing to say, Rob! |
Rob: | Well, it would be horrible if it was a serious message. But haven't you noticed my emoticon at the end of the message? |
Vera: | Emoticon? I have the message printed out here ... Yes, I can see here in the email that you typed a colon, followed by a hyphen and a closing bracket. And when I look at it sideways I can see ... a smiley face ... :-) It's an emoticon! It was a joke after all! |
Rob: | Yes. Emoticons were created precisely for this purpose, to avoid misunderstandings like the one we've just had. I wrote my message as a joke and you took it seriously. |
Vera: | I read recently that emoticons were created 30 years ago by a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Emoticon is a combination of the words 'emotional' and 'icon'. |
Rob: | And indicates if a message is serious or a joke. When you speak, you can express if you're serious about what you are saying but sometimes it is difficult to achieve that on paper. Listen to some verbal examples. |
Vera: When you say something, you can convey the spirit with the tone of your voice. But sometimes it is not clear when it is written.
Rob: | But it's good to point out that emoticons are still an informal sort of message. It might not look good if you use them in a message to your boss or include them in your CV. |
Vera: | That's indeed a good thing to keep in mind. We should be careful when using emoticons. |
Rob: | Emoticons have become so popular that there are over a hundred of them. Some with a proper round yellow face. |
Vera: | Now that our misunderstanding has been sorted out, we should go out and celebrate! The 30th anniversary of the emoticon is a good excuse for some coffee and cake. |
Rob: | And let's celebrate our friendship too. A friendship saved by an emoticona smiley face in fact. Bye. |
Vera: | Bye. |
Rob: | And Vera, your voice is very beautiful, by the way. |
Vera: | And so is yours, Rob. You should be a singer. |
Rob: | And so should you, Vera. Your voice is so melodic ... |
Rob: | Beautiful! |