The pragmatics of emoji in awareness campaigns

This article explores the pragmatic functions of emoji in online awareness campaigns within the framework of digital communication, a key element of contemporary capitalism. Emojis, often perceived as decorative symbols, serve crucial communicative roles, such as expressing emotions, enhancing text, and shaping meaning through context. Drawing from Austin’s Speech Act Theory and Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory, the study analyzes five English-language awareness campaigns produced between 2014 and 2024. These campaigns use emojis strategically to reinforce messages and engage audiences across social media platforms. The article aims to contextualize emoji in digital discourse, outline their communicative potential in hybrid messages (text, audio, image), and show how they function pragmatically within structured speech acts. The research contributes to the broader field of linguistic studies by highlighting emoji as significant tools in virtual communication, particularly in digital campaigns that seek to raise awareness on social issues and foster public engagement