The english we speak(BBC教學)第66期: emoticon表情符號
Rob: What's happened Vera? You don't look very happy.
羅伯：發生了什麼維拉？你看起來不太高興。Vera: Of course I'm not happy. I've just read the email you sent saying if I don't come to the studio soon you are going to present the programme by yourself…
維拉：我當然不高興了。我剛看到了你發給我的郵件，說如果我一會不到演播廳來你就要自己錄節目了。Rob: That's right.
羅伯：對啊。
Vera: And then you wrote: "With my beautiful voice, nobody will miss yours." That's a horrible thing to say, Rob!
維拉：然後你說：“我的聲音這麼美麗，沒人會想念你的聲音。”這話說得很糟糕，羅伯！Rob: Well, it would be horrible if it was a serious message. But haven't you noticed my emoticon at the end of the message?
羅伯：如果這是一篇嚴肅的郵件的話的確很糟糕。但是你注意到我郵件最後的表情符號了嗎？Vera: Emoticon? I have the message printed out here… Yes, I can see here in the email that you typed a colon, followed by a hyphen and a closing bracket. And when I look at it sideways I can see… a smiley face… :-) It's an emoticon! It was a joke after all!
維拉：表情符號？我把郵件打印出來了...是的，我看到郵件裏你打了一個冒號，接着是一個連字符，然後是一個右括號。然後當我從一旁看的話就能看到一個笑臉...這是個表情符號！原來是個玩笑！Rob: Yes. Emoticons were created precisely for this purpose, to avoid misunderstandings like the one we've just had. I wrote my message as a joke and you took it seriously.
羅伯：是的。表情符號的創造就是這個目的，避免像我們剛纔那樣的誤會。我寫的郵件是個玩笑而你卻認真了。Vera: I read recently that emoticons were created 30 years ago by a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Emoticon is a combination of the words 'emotional' and 'icon'.
維拉：我最近看到表情符號是在30年前由一個匹茲堡的卡耐基梅隆大學的教授發明的。表情符號是“表情”和“符號”這兩個詞結合拼成的。Rob: And indicates if a message is serious or a joke. When you speak, you can express if you're serious about what you are saying but sometimes it is difficult to achieve that on paper. Listen to some verbal examples.
羅伯：它暗示一條消息究竟是嚴肅的還是開玩笑的。當你說話時，你可以表達出你對所說的話是否是嚴肅的但是有時在書面上很難達到這個目的。聽一些口頭上的例子吧。“I don't like going to the cinema with you. You always fall asleep and end up snoring loudly.”
我不喜歡和你一起去電影院。你總是睡着然後大聲打呼。“I don't like going to the cinema with you. You always fall asleep and end up snoring loudly!”
我不喜歡和你一起去電影院。你總是睡着然後大聲打呼！Vera: When you say something, you can convey the spirit with the tone of your voice. But sometimes it is not clear when it is written.
維拉：當你敘述某事時，你可以用聲音的腔調來傳達精髓。但是有時寫下來就不清楚了。Rob: But it's good to point out that emoticons are still an informal sort of message. It might not look good if you use them in a message to your boss or include them in your CV.
羅伯：但是必須指出表情符號仍然是一種不正式的信息。它如果用在給你的老闆或在你的簡歷裏就不太好了。Vera: That's indeed a good thing to keep in mind. We should be careful when using emoticons.
維拉：這的確是一件需要記住的事。我們應該謹慎使用這些表情符號。Rob: Emoticons have become so popular that there are over a hundred of them. Some with a proper round yellow face.
羅伯：表情符號已經非常流行了，它們有超過100多種。有些有黃色的圓臉。Vera: Now that our misunderstanding has been sorted out, we should go out and celebrate! The 30th anniversary of the emoticon is a good excuse for some coffee and cake.
維拉：既然我們的誤解消除了，我們應該出去慶祝一下！表情符號發明的30週年紀念是個喝咖啡吃蛋糕的好藉口。Rob: And let's celebrate our friendship too. A friendship saved by an emoticon – a smiley face in fact. Bye.
羅伯：我們還要慶祝一下我們的友誼。一份被表情符號拯救的友誼——事實上是一個笑臉。再見。Vera: Bye.
維拉：再見。Rob: And Vera, your voice is very beautiful, by the way.
羅伯：還有維拉，順便說一句，你的聲音很美。Vera: And so is yours, Rob. You should be a singer.
維拉：你的也是，羅伯。你應該當個歌手。Rob: And so should you, Vera. Your voice is so melodic…
羅伯：你也應該，維拉。你的嗓音很有韻律...Rob: Beautiful!
羅伯：太美了！
