A shaking head, new heart colors and a familiar goose are among a new group of emojis set to be released this year.

Unicode Consortium’s list contains only 31 new emojis, which expand what can be said through pictures and symbols in text and online messages.

This is a much smaller release than last year’s 112 emojis, which included pregnant people, a crutch and a low battery sign.

The succinct release has been met with a mostly positive response online. The emojis will go through a final round of approval in September before they are released.

Emoji reference website Emojipedia said while some emojis may not make the final version, most that reach this stage are confirmed.

The inclusion of the goose emoji has drawn comparisons to indie gaming hit “Untitled Goose Game,” which sees players take control of a horrible goose.

The chosen emojis are selected by Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit organization based in California.

Keith Broni, editor in chief of Emojipedia, said the smaller number of emojis this year was an “intentional choice.”

“The Unicode emoji subcommittee wants to take more time to consider what will go on the emoji keyboard,” he said. “In previous years a lot of things were added.

“They want to look at what we can add that is going to represent symbols that we know or experiences we have had — things like a face being shaken or the pink hearts.”

He said people were excited to see the pink heart emoji finally included, but he was particularly interested in the utility of the shaking head.

“It is most likely going to be used when we are metaphorically or physically shaken,” he said. “But a lot of the rationale behind this has been — how can we convey what happens to a person when they’re undergoing the experience of being in an earthquake?”

He added that their designer probably took “healthy inspiration” from the goose video game for the relevant emoji — but it has meaning beyond that.

“In the case of the goose, the concept goes back to how we use language in an expressive way,” he said.

“How can we forget the English idiom ‘silly goose?’ Through the emoji, that English language idiom becomes a piece of knowledge that can be represented across cultures.”

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【简洁的】jiǎnjié de succinct briefly and clearly expressed

【理由】lǐyóu rationale an underlying reason

摇头脸、新颜色的爱心、熟悉的鹅……这些都是今年即将上线的新表情符号。

统一码联盟发布的这组新表情符号只有31个，这些表情符号可以通过图案和象征符号表达出短信和在线留言的言外之意。

这次发布的表情符号数量远远少于去年的112个，去年的表情符号包括孕妇、拐杖和电量不足等图标。

尽管数量少，但是这组表情符号在网上得到的反馈大多是正面的。

这组表情符号还需要在9月份通过最后一轮审批才能发布。

表情符号参考网站Emojipedia表示，尽管有些表情符号也许未能入选最终版本，但是这次公布的大多数表情符号都已确定入选。

新增的鹅表情符号让人联想起热门独立游戏《鹅作剧》，玩家在游戏中要操控一只可怕的大鹅。

这些表情符号都是总部在加州的非营利组织统一码联盟挑选出来的。

Emojipedia网站主编基思•布罗尼表示，今年表情符号数量较少是“有意为之”。

他说：“统一码联盟的表情符号小组委员会想花更多时间来考虑入选键盘的表情符号。往年增加了很多表情符号。”

“他们考虑增加什么样的表情符号能够代表我们知道的事物或我们曾有过的经历，比如摇头脸或粉色爱心。”

布罗尼称，人们对于粉色爱心终于入选表情符号感到很兴奋，但是他对摇头脸的实用性尤其感兴趣。

他说：“当我们真的在摇头或心里想摇头的时候最有可能使用这一表情符号。但是这个符号背后还有很多隐含意思，比如，我们要如何传达一个人遭遇地震的感受呢？”

布罗尼补充道，表情符号设计师很可能从《鹅作剧》游戏中汲取了“健康的灵感”，从而设计出了相关的表情符号，但是这只鹅的含义绝不止于此。

他说：“说到鹅符号的概念，我们可以想一想人类如何用富有表现力的方式来使用语言。”

“我们怎么能忘记英语习语中的‘呆头鹅’呢？通过这个表情符号，这个习语得以在跨文化交流中进行传达。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)