Over the last few years, cartoon pictograms have become an important part of how many people communicate. In recent years, there has been a push to include more diversity in emoticons, like adding new options for a variety of skin tones in smiley faces.
But when people from the Te Puia Maori cultural center in Rotorua, New Zealand, looked at existing emojis, they realized there was an opportunity to create some that reflected their country’s native cultures. They designed more than 150 emoticons that have named “Emotikis.” The pictograms include traditional objects from Maori culture. The set even includes a number of animated emoji gifs.
But while the Maori emojis may be designed with fun in mind, Kiri Atkinson-Crean, Te Puia spokesperson, says they give Maori youth a way to communicate with each other online using signifiers from their own culture.
“All they could use were expressions and symbols from other countries—we wanted to give them an opportunity to express themselves through another form of this language with Maori culture Emotikis,” said Atkinson-Crean.
Even so, there is more to texting than emoticons. Many languages are inexpressible with the limited symbols available for most smartphone keyboards, and many of those languages are at risk of disappearing.
In Canada, there are more than 60 different native languages spoken by First Nations people, but many of these languages are at risk of disappearing. During the late 19th century, government policies tore First Nations children from their parents in order to forcibly absorb them into Euro-Canadian and Christian culture. Raised in state-run schools, they were forbidden to speak their native languages.
Native groups have advocated for years to have their languages officially recognized by Canada. To protect their languages, they’re also turning to technology for solutions. For example, the FirstVoices Keyboard is a free app for iPhone and Android smartphones that allows anyone to write in more than 100 native languages from around the world.
Many native languages require characters that weren’t available on smartphone, tablets and the like. So Alex Wadsworth, who developed the FirstVoice Keyboard, programmed in these characters and then applied his keyboards to use for text messaging and writing emails. “You can text an elder now,” says Wadsworth.
12. Why did the Te Puia Maori cultural center designed Emotikis?
A.To preserve their culture. | B.To keep up with the world. |
C.To enrich the life of Maori youth. | D.To help Maori youth communicate easily. |
13. What can be learned about Emotikis?
A.They are popular in Canada. | B.They will endanger native language. |
C.They are too limited to express fully. | D.They include many symbols from different countries. |
14. What happened to native languages in Canada?
A.They were once forbidden in many schools. |
B.Many of them disappeared from literary usage. |
C.They were once officially recognized by Canada. |
D.Many of them served as a bridge to learn English. |
15. Which of the following is TRUE of the FirstVoices Keyboard?
A.It is designed for elders. | B.It offers many languages. |
C.It has been advocated officially. | D.It can be bought on smartphone. |