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Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Sam.

And I'm Neil.

It's nice to see you, Neil. Smiley face, high five, fist bump.

What is this, Sam? Are you saying hello with emojis?

Yes, I am. In this programme, we're entering the world of emojis.

The small characters people use to show emotions in texts and emails.

Do you have a favourite emoji, Neil?

Minds that crying tears of laughter emoji.

I like the smiling face with hearts one.

And with over 3,000 emojis to choose from, there's one for every occasion.

It's one of the reasons why emojis have become so popular over the last 20 years.

They let people put back some of the human emotion that's missing in written texts and emails.

We'll be finding out more about emojis and learning some related vocabulary soon,

but first I have a question for you, Neil.

It's about the word emoji itself, which was invented in 1999 in Japan

for the first internet-enabled mobile phones.

The name emoji comes from the combination of two Japanese words,

but which words? Is the word emoji a combination of a face and emotion,

B, picture and character, or C, message and image?

I'll say it's a face and emotion.

Okay, Neil, we'll find out if your answer gets a thumbs up at the end of the programme.

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