Emoji: Review of FPDAM8

L2/10-061R
Date: 2010-Feb-04
Authors: Markus Scherer, Kat Momoi, Mark Davis (Google Inc.)

0. Summary

We have reviewed FPDAM8 (N3738) and see no problems with Emoji character code points, names and glyphs, except for the small set of exceptions noted below.

We recommend that the US position be to avoid further substantive name and glyph changes, except to address the issues below.

1. Mistake in a Regional Indicator Symbol Mapping

In EmojiSrc.txt, the KDDI and SoftBank Emoji symbol e-4EA REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTERS GB is incorrectly mapped to the sequence of symbol letters "U" and "K". The sequence should be corrected to reflect the ISO 3166 code "GB" instead.

This means changing the EmojiSrc.txt line

1F1FA 1F1F0;;F3D1;FBB0
to
1F1EC 1F1E7;;F3D1;FBB0

2. Name Changes in N3711=L2/09-370

Shortly before the Tokyo WG2 meeting, N3711 (=L2/09-370) was submitted with a review of the Emoticon subset of the Emoji symbols, including suggestions for glyph and name changes. During the Tokyo meeting, the glyph changes were mostly accepted into FPDAM8. At the time, no action was taken on the suggested name changes.

We have reviewed the suggested name changes and recommend the following US position:

a) Adopt the suggested name changes except as noted below in b).

Note: Some of the names listed here, both original and suggested, are modified compared with N3711 by inserting hyphens to reflect such changes in FPDAM8. (For example, "HEART SHAPED"→"HEART-SHAPED".) Also, some code points differ between PDAM8 and FPDAM8.

  1. e-321=U+1F601 ANGUISHED FACE → WEARY FACE (Note: In the source KDDI="ほえー", is onomatopoeia that suggests the person is tired and whining.)
  2. e-326=U+1F606 EXPRESSIONLESS FACE → UNAMUSED FACE (This follows a significant glyph change agreed in Tokyo.)
  3. e-327=U+1F607 FACE WITH HEART-SHAPED EYES → HAPPY FACE WITH HEART-SHAPED EYES
  4. e-329=U+1F609 WINKING FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE → KIDDING AND WINKING FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE
  5. e-32A=U+1F60A FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE → KIDDING FACE WITH STUCK-OUT TONGUE
  6. e-32C=U+1F60C FACE THROWING A KISS → HAPPY FACE THROWING A KISS
  7. e-32D=U+1F60D FACE KISSING → HAPPY FACE KISSING
  8. e-335=U+1F615 HAPPY FACE WITH WIDE MOUTH AND RAISED EYEBROWS → HAPPY FACE WITH WIDE MOUTH AND SMILING EYES ("raised eyebrows" refer to older glyph designs than what was agreed for FPDAM8)
  9. e-338=U+1F616 HAPPY FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND RAISED EYEBROWS → HAPPY FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH AND SMILING EYES ("raised eyebrows" refer to older glyph designs than what was agreed for FPDAM8)
  10. e-348=U+1F62B CAT FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH → HAPPY CAT FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH
  11. e-34B=U+1F62E CAT FACE KISSING → HAPPY CAT FACE KISSING
  12. e-34C=U+1F62F CAT FACE WITH HEART-SHAPED EYES → HAPPY CAT FACE WITH HEART-SHAPED EYES
  13. e-34F=U+1F632 CAT FACE WITH TIGHTLY-CLOSED LIPS → SMART CAT FACE WITH TIGHTLY-CLOSED LIPS
  14. e-357=U+1F63A PERSON RAISING ONE HAND → HAPPY PERSON RAISING ONE HAND
  15. e-35B=U+1F63E PERSON WITH FOLDED HANDS → PLEADING PERSON WITH FOLDED HANDS

b) Do not adopt the following name changes as suggested.

  1. e-32E=U+1F60E FACE WITH MASK → SAD FACE WITH MEDICAL MASK: "medical" is good, but "sad" seems too strong. We suggest FACE WITH MEDICAL MASK instead.
  2. e-325=U+1F605 EXASPERATED FACE → IMPATIENT FACE: Impatient does not seem to be a good fit. We suggest FACE WITH COLD SWEAT.
    • Kida-san comments on the N3711 suggestion: I also agree with this in that EXASPERATED is a bit off. The sources are KDDI="あせり" literally meaning "be hasty", SoftBank="おろおろ” literally meaning someone is off balance or upset. both suggest someone is not calm, lost his composure and don't know what to do. I am not sure though IMPATIENT is the right word.

3. Glyph Defects

e-33F=U+1F61D CONFOUNDED FACE

The glyph has an irregularly-shaped squiggle over the head of this "confounded face". It should be removed.

e-34B=U+1F62E CAT FACE KISSING

The glyph shows two mouth shapes: A heart representing "kissing", and also a simple mouth shape. They collide, and together they look wrong. We request that the glyph be fixed.

4. Status of EmojiSrc.txt

It has come to our attention that at least one cell phone carrier has concerns about the source mapping file: Whether carriers can map differently from what is in the sources file, and whether the mappings in EmojiSrc.txt can be changed.
We believe that the sources file is useful for
However, if it proves difficult to allay concerns about the sources file, we suggest that the US position be flexible with regard to whether the file is

5. Additional Header Text for EmojiSrc.txt

We propose adding the following paragraphs to the header of the EmojiSrc.txt file:

This file provides mappings between UCS code points and sequences on one hand and Shift-JIS codes for cell phone carrier symbols on the other hand. Each mapping is symmetric ("round trip"), for equivalent UCS and carrier symbols or sequences. This file does not include best-fit ("fallback") mappings to similar but not equivalent symbols in either mapping direction.

Note: It is possible that future versions of this file will include additional data columns providing mappings for additional vendors.

6. Additional Annotation

For e-814=U+1F3B6 MULTIPLE MUSICAL NOTES we suggest adding this annotation: x (beamed eighth notes - 266b)