VOE

It’s a debate that’s sweeping the internet.  What is the plural of the word emoji? Some say it’s “emoji,” others say “emojis.” The word emoji comes from the Japanese words “e,” meaning picture and “moji,” meaning character. Following the rules of the Japanese language, there would be no “s” used to make the word plural.Did you know that the word emoji originated from Japan?  However, many English grammatical organizations have taken stands in favor of the plural “emojis.” Mark Allen, a board member of the American Copy Editors Society wrote in an email to The New York Observer, “when words enter English, we usually make them play by our rules, so I think ’emojis’ has the edge.” The Associated Press and dictionary.com seem to agree with Allen. Both sources have “emojis” listed as the plural of the word.How do you feel about using the word “emojis” as the plural of the word “emoji”? A study performed by emojipedia.org in May of 2016 shows trends in searches for emoji pluralization. As of May, “emoji” was still the most popular pluralization, however “emoji” was trending steadily downward as “emojis” was trending upward. It looks like there is no concrete answer yet. Maybe time will tell, or maybe we will never know. Overall, what matters is which version of emoji plural you want to use.