As it turns out, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year, announced on Tuesday, is not a word. You won't find it in the dictionary either. It’s a pictogram. To be more precise, it’s officially called the “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji. Fighting off strong competition from “refugees” and “ad blocker”, it was deemed as the “word” that best reflected the “ethos, mood and preoccupations of 2015”.
Oxford University Press, which publishes the dictionary, reasoned that the use of emojis is no longer restricted to teens but is now a nuanced form of expression that crosses language barriers. It gave the example of US presidential candidate Hilary Clinton to emphasise its point.
How does your student loan debt make you feel? Tell us in 3 emojis or less.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2015
One could argue that OUP is just reflecting reality. Emojis, after all, seem to be taking over the world. A study by a British linguist has found that "emoji is the fastest growing form of language in history". In the UK, 72% of 18- to 25-year-olds said they found it easier to put their feelings across in emoji icons than in text.
To zero in down on the "tears of joy" emoji, OUP used statistics from popular mobile keyboard app SwiftKey, which estimated that the "tears of joy" comprised a fifth of all emojis used in the US and the UK.
However, English professors, degree holders, and purists around the world were none too pleased with this development, choosing Twitter to vent their ire (with words, not emojis).
Here’s a selection:
This emoji has been named as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year, narrowly beating out that little turd one. pic.twitter.com/nQtKTp7p0V
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) November 17, 2015
Oxford Dictionaries picks 'tears of joy' emoji as word of the year. English teachers search for 'Dickens spinning in grave’ emoji.
— HaveIGotNewsForYou (@haveigotnews) November 17, 2015
Oxford making the word of the year an emoji is like if they gave next year’s best picture Oscar to a magazine.
— philippe iujvidin (@philyuck) November 16, 2015
@monnie where's my Oxford comma emoji when I need it.
— Adam (@Brain_Doctor) November 10, 2015
So @OxfordWords, we're using emojis for everything now? Here's a classic convo: Darcy: Elizabeth: Darcy: #OxfordWOTY #Emoji #Austen
— Oxford Classics (@OWC_Oxford) November 17, 2015
If only there was a way that we could all illustrate our anger at the fact that Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year is an emoji...
— Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) November 17, 2015