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Culture July 10, 2017
Why am I majoring in English when I could specialize in this?
Just when I thought fidget spinners were the most hip, millennial thing I’d ever seen, a new job position was created that blew all other competitors out of the water.
Keith Broni, a man from Ireland, became the first ever emoji translator for Today Translations, based in London.
Broni is an expert in translating emojis. And before you say, “Duh, I could do that,” remember that Broni’s job is to translate what emojis mean in all languages and cultures. He was hired to understand and explain what each tiny image meant to different groups of people in various parts of the world in order to best communicate the proper intended messages.
Today Translation’s post about the search for applicants explained the necessity of the new job. The post read: “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.”
It sounds fake, shallow and fleeting at first glance, but honestly, if there’s a need for it and that’s where our methods of communication are, then it’s legitimate enough for me. Correct and sensitive communication is incredibly important, no matter what the translation process may be.
Emojis don’t seem to be going anywhere, so Broni’s job should be safe and plenty more emoji experts should be hired.
The big question now is whether or not emojis will become a legitimate form of communication in the professional world. Sure, they’re everywhere in common, casual conversation, but will it transfer over to business? And will it transfer over to business without trying too hard to be cool? Because if there’s one more over-done, unnecessary, trying-to-relate-to-millennials-but-failing-so-painfully-it-actually-makes-my-skin-crawl, emoji-exploiting thing, I might just switch to a Nokia.
