EMOJIS are now such a major part of modern language that Oxford Dictionaries have made one their word of the year.

    The “face with tears of joy” emoji is the very first picture to be awarded the prestigious title, demonstrating just how much smartphones have changed the way we communicate.

    Texters traditionally use the face as a sign of laughter and officials at Oxford Dictionaries feel that it captures the mood and ethos of 2015 the best.

    Judges said the emoji was chosen as they “have come to embody a core aspect of living in a digital world that is visually driven, emotionally expressive, and obsessively immediate.”

    Actual words that were beaten to the prize include “refugees,” “Brexit” and “ad blocker.”

    Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Dictionaries, said the emojis could be understood by anyone — whatever language they speak.

    He explained, “You can see how traditional alphabet scripts have been struggling to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st century communication.

    “It’s not surprising that a pictographic script like emoji has stepped in to fill those gaps — it’s flexible, immediate, and infuses tone beautifully.

    “As a result emoji are becoming an increasingly rich form of communication, one that transcends linguistic borders.”

    (SD-Agencies)