Emoticons: From Affects ́ Meaning to Conversational Strategies
Emoticons are pictograms that are used as indexes of the speaker’s affects. Our hypothesis is that this feature allows speakers to use emoticons as a tool to plan complex conversational strategies (agreement, disagreement, etc.). This article firstly shows that emoticons, because they are indexes of the speakers affect, are a part of the calculation of modality. They allow to understand how the speaker positions himself in regard of the propositional content he utters. This allows to link the emoticons to a measurement of responsibility towards what is said by the speaker. This degree fluctuates, depending on the emoticon that is used. This article finally shows how this variability of the measurement of responsibility allows to organize real and complex conversational strategies, which provide a frame for the whole conversation.