It won’t be long before ’emoji’ is recognized as an official language.
As such, it will require translators so people who don’t speak it can understand what receiving an illustrated aubergine means.
One company in the U.K. called Today Translations is looking to hire an emoji expert who can help them “meet the translation challenges posed by the world’s fastest-growing language.”
“Emoji translation is itself an emerging field – but one dominated to date by software, which is often insensitive to the many cultural differences in usage and interpretation. We are therefore seeking an exceptional individual to provide the human touch needed where translation software is inadequate – and to help us become the go-to translation experts in this area,” reads the job posting.
There’s even a really fun test you can take to test your skills (we got all except one).
It’s not as easy as it seems, though. You’ll need to be well-versed in knowing what emojis could signify in different cultures.
The waving hand emoji, for example, doesn’t mean ‘hello’ in China. Instead, it means something along the lines of ‘goodbye, you’re, not my friend anymore’.
According to the BBC, in Japan, the words for “poo” and “luck” sound similar, so it’s tradition to send a “poo” message before an important appointment.
Daily responsibilities for the job will include client, stakeholder and internal emoji translation, monthly reporting on emoji trends, developments, usage and areas of confusion and cultural differences, cross-cultural research on differences in emoji usage/interpretation, and ad hoc consultancy and advice.
So if you find your language skills regressing because all you speak is emoji, be sure to send an application.
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