A Pragmatic Study of Emojis on WeChat: from the Perspectives of FTA (face-threatening act) and Request Strategy

Abstract

The usage of emojis has become a ubiquitous and effective method of online communication. This paper focuses on emojis used in request messages on WeChat based on the face theory and request strategy, aiming to explore the features of emoji usage in terms of representational patterns and pragmatic functions. By analyzing the data collected through the Discourse Completion Task, it is found that emojis are most likely to occur singly and in the supportive move of requests. Emojis are usually used to represent emotions, attitudes, and virtual actions, indicating that they are always complementary to the text. Additionally, the weightiness of face-threatening acts has no significant influence on the pragmatic usage of emojis. This paper can enrich the pragmatic studies on emojis in terms of one-to-one online interaction. Moreover, it can help gain a deeper understanding of emojis used in request messages.