Multimodal Communication in the Digital Age: A Pragmatic Analysis of Emojis and Stickers

Abstract

This study analyzes the pragmatic functions of emojis and stickers in computer-mediated communication, through a cross-cultural comparison between Chinese and Egyptian social media users. Even though emojis are frequently perceived as universal visual symbols, their significance and usages are constructed by societal, linguistic, or cultural environments. Studying emojis in an exploratory way, the research investigates how these digital symbols serve as devices for emoting, modulating conversational tone and preserving interpersonal connections.

To fully appreciate the implications for emoji and stickers as multimodal communicatory resources beyond basic emotional expression including discourse management, humor and social bonding. Although there are observable similarities in the ways cultures use emojis—indicating partial universality—there are vast discrepancies regarding frequency, context and interpretation. The emoji behavior of Chinese users falls more on the polite, indirect, context-sensitive side while Egyptian users lean towards expressive, humorous and emotion-heavy usage.

And stickers are also found to be more culture and context-specific than emojis, reflecting local identities, humor and social registers. Consistently, the results point to both universal and culture-specific aspects of digital visual communication elucidating how pragmatic emoji and sticker use in online interactions is driven by a cultural orientation.