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Wanted: Emoji translator

December 14, 2016

Passionate emoji users, this might be the job of your dreams: A London translation agency is hiring a person to interpret the miniature images often found in text messages and on social media.

Emoji (Ausstellung)
Image: cc-by-sa/Otto Yamamoto

A London translation agency called Today Translations has posted on its website a job advertisement for an "emoji translator" on Tuesday.

"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," said the posting. "We are therefore seeking an exceptional individual to provide the human touch needed where translation software is inadequate."

The translator will need to determine the different uses of the small images around the world and translate them, as well as prepare monthly reports on emoji trends.

The person will also need to determine the different uses of the small images around the world and translate them, clearing, for example, whether the two hands emoji should rather be read as praying hands or a high five:

"In the absence of any native speakers, the successful candidate should be able to demonstrate a passion for emojis, combined with cutting-edge knowledge and awareness of areas of confusion and cultural/international differences," the advert added.

A reference website called Emojipedia, created by "the world's pre-eminent emoji specialist" Jeremy Burge in 2013 and considered the world's most comprehensive resource on emoji, will certainly serve as one of the main tools of the future translator:

According to the encyclopedia, there are currently over 1,850 emoji characters that have been developed for different platforms.

 

 

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