Emoticons evolve into the practical punctuation of the Internet.(technology today)

Depending on your perspective, emoticons may be one of the most charming aspects of online communication or one of the most annoying. Though Internet veterans and texting aficionados may think emoticons are old hat, the linguistics behind them is interesting.

An emoticon (short for emotion and icon) is a facial expression represented by a short combination of letters and other characters you can type on your computer's keyboard. The facial expression is typically, though not always, tilted on its side, like this :-).

The above smiley face, which represents eyes, a nose and a smiling mouth, was invented in 1982 by Scott Fahlman, currently a research professor specializing in artificial intelligence at Carnegie Melon School …