Cross-Cultural Semiotics of Emoji Use: A Comparative Content Analysis of Hands Pressed Together, Skull, and Peach

Abstract

Although emojis are often hailed as a universal digital language, their meanings changes across cultures. By focusing on three polysemic examples—(hands pressed together), (skull), and (peach)—this study examines how interpretations shift across English, Japanese, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese contexts. Also, this research combines content analysis with semiotic approach grounded in Saussurean, Peircean, and Barthesian theory. Results reveal clear divergences: hands pressed together signifies “prayer” in English, “gratitude/politeness” in Japanese, and “Namaste” in Indian discourse; skull denotes “death” in Arabic, “humor” in Western slang, and “ancestral ritual” in Mexican culture; peach represents sexual slang in English, fruit in European posts, and longevity in Chinese folklore. These findings demonstrate that emojis are culturally embedded, polysemic signs shaped by ideology, ritual, and online vernaculars, challenging the notion of emojis as neutral or universal symbols and positioning the study as an exploratory contribution to cross-cultural in digital semiotics.