Sex & Relationships

Study reveals emojis can save your relationship

Whether it’s a smiley face or a cheeky kiss, for many of us emojis have become a routine way of signing off texts.

But now a linguistics expert has claimed that a simple emoji has the potential to save relationships, by preventing misunderstandings and helping men and women grasp each other’s underlying meaning better.

He reckons they play an essential role in conveying expression and emotion through digital communication, helping us to successfully convey our personalities.

Vyv Evans, a former professor of linguistics at Bangor University and editor of a journal on language and cognitive science, has written a book about the phenomenon.

“The Emoji Code” explores the way that smiley faces and other similar symbols are transforming the way people communicate.

He reckons men in particular benefit from texts containing emojis as it gives them a visible clue as to their other half’s tone and intention.

Professor Evans told The Sunday Telegraph: “For example, when a guy says to a woman, ‘I’m going out with my mates’, and the woman replies, ‘Fine, do whatever you want’, she is actually testing his judgement.

“She is saying, ‘You should know me well enough by now to know that I will not be fine with that’.

“Understanding that communicative intention is key to a harmonious relationship.

“If a woman sends the message, ‘Fine, do whatever you want’ on a smartphone and adds the angry face or disappointed face emoji, it gives the recipient a non-verbal cue… showing him how to interpret the words.

“A guy can’t miss it and there is very little room for misunderstanding.”

More than six billion emojis are sent every day.

In October 2015, the “face with tears of joy” smiley emoji was named word of the year by Oxford English Dictionaries – the first time a pictograph had scooped the award.