6 - Emoji Resonating with Interpersonal Meaning

Summary

This chapter explores the interpersonal function of emoji as they resonate with the linguistic attitude and negotiation of solidarity expressed in social media posts. We have introduced a system network for describing the ways in which this resonance can occur, making a distinction between emoji which imbue the co-text with interpersonal meaning (usually through attitudinally targeting particular ideation) and emoji which enmesh with the interpersonal meanings made in the co-text (usually through coordinating with linguistic attitude). We then explain the more delicate options in this resonance network where emoji can harmonise with the co-text by either echoing or coalescing interpersonal meaning, or can rebound from the co-text, either complicating, subverting or positioning interpersonal meaning. Following this traversal of the resonance network we considered two important dimensions of interpersonal meaning noted in the corpus: the role of emoji in modulating attendant interpersonal meanings in the co-text by upscaling graduation and emoji’s capacity to radiate interpersonal meaning through emblematic usage as bonding icons.