For some of us, it's a second language.

對某些人而言，它是種第二語言。

But did you know anyone can make an emoji?

但你知道每個人都能做表情符號嗎？

You don't need funding.

你不需要資金。

You don't need to know someone on the inside.

也不需要有門路。

You just need a really good 10-page paper.

你只需要十頁寫得很好的提議書。

Emoji is actually a Japanese word that means "pictogram" or "pictograph".

表情符號其實是源自一個日文字，意思為「圖示」或「圖像文字」。

SoftBank, a Japanese wireless carrier, created the first known emoji set in 1997.

日文的通訊商 SoftBacnk 在 1997 年創造了第一組廣為人知的表情符號。

When Apple launched its iOS 2.2 in November 2008, it had to create its own emoji so any emoji sent from SoftBank customers would show up on iPhones.

當 Apple 在 2008 年十一月發布 iOS 2.2 時，他們得創造自己的表情符號，這樣 SoftBank 的客戶使用 iPhone 傳送表情符號時才會有東西出現。

The company gave the task to three designers.

Apple 把這項任務交給了三個設計師。

And so, when I was there, I just openly asked, "What is an emoji?"

當時我就直接問說：「表情符號是什麼？」

And they told me, "Oh, it's like an illustration, and you're gonna be drawing about 480 of them with your mentor."

然後他們說：「噢，表情符號就像是一種圖示，然後妳大約要和妳的導師一起畫 480 張。」

And I was like, "Oh, all right, well, here I go for three months making these illustrations."

然後我就是：「噢，好，我來三個月埋頭苦畫這些圖示。」

Fast-forward to 2019.

快轉到 2019 年。

Thousands of emoji have been added, depictions of existing emoji have been changed, and now, anyone can propose an emoji.

數以千計的表情符號已被加入系統，現存表情符號的圖樣也有改變，而現在每個人都可以提出表情符號的點子。

The first step is to submit your proposal to the Unicode Consortium.

第一步是繳交你的提議書到統一碼聯盟。

It's a nonprofit organization that sets the standard for how text is represented and displayed across various programs and pieces of software.

統一碼聯盟是一個讓文字在各種程式與軟體呈現方式標準化的非營利組織。

The Unicode Consortium deals with about 50 emoji proposals a year.

統一碼聯盟一年處理大約五十份的提議書。

That might not sound like a lot, but it's because most of the proposals don't even make it past the first round.

聽起來不多，但那是因為大部分的提議在第一階段就被刷掉了。

Why not?

為什麼呢？

Well, you have to design an icon that still looks like a redwood tree, or whatever you're interested in, even at extremely small size, because we use emoji in text.

你得設計一個用很小的尺寸仍看得出來是紅木樹，或任何你感興趣的東西的圖示，因為我們會在訊息中使用表情符號。

And that's where a lot of proposals just fall flat immediately.

這就是許多提議馬上就落選的原因。

Proposers also need to make sure their emoji align with Unicode's 13 mandatory selection factors,

提議者也需確保他們的表情符號遵守統一碼的 13 項設計選擇原則，

turning their proposals into 10-page documents that include an overall explanation of the emoji, reasons why it's needed, and data justifying its existence.

把提議寫成十頁的文件，裡頭需包含該表情符號的大略介紹、需要這個表情符號的原因及該物存在的證據資料。

So, if you want to have a strong proposal, one, it should be an emoji that people will use frequently, often, and that a large number of people will use.

所以如果你想要有一個好的提議，那應該要是一個人們頻繁使用、且大多數人會用的表情符號。

Two, it has to be in that sweet spot of being specific enough to warrant a separate image and not general enough to be confused with other things that are not that emoji.

第二，該表情符號需精準地達到獨樹一格的特質，也不能太過廣泛而與其他不那麼「表情符號」的東西搞混。

That's Sebastián Delmont.

這是 Sebastián Delmont。

He successfully proposed the flatbread emoji.

他成功提出了薄餅表情符號。

He's also an active member of Emojination, a community of emoji enthusiasts that helps get many emoji proposals approved, like the hijab and the dumpling.

他同時也是 Emojination ，一個幫助許多表情符號如頭巾與餃子提議通過的社群的活躍份子。

Once your proposal is ready, you submit it to Unicode via email, but the review process takes about a whole year.

當你準備好提議書，就可以透過電子郵件寄給統一碼聯盟，但審核過程得花上一整年。

Why so long?

為什麼要這麼久？

Well, it needs to be approved from different committees within Unicode.

因為該表情符號需要被統一碼聯盟中的不同委員會批准。

Here's the journey your proposed emoji takes after it's been submitted to Unicode.

以下是你提議的表情符號被提交到統一碼聯盟後的旅程。

First, the Emoji Subcommittee will review and refine proposals with those who submitted them.

首先，表情符號小組委員會將審核並修改那些提議書。

Some proposals may get rejected, but proposals that do meet all the selection factors will get passed to the Unicode Technical Committee.

有些提議書可能會被駁回，但通過所有設計選擇原則的提議會被交到統一碼技術委員會。

This committee finalizes everything that will go into the Unicode Standard, like assigning a universal code for each emoji.

這個委員會為所有會進入統一碼標準的東西做結尾，如幫每一個表情符號制定一個通用代碼。

Six months in, the Draft Candidates list is created, which lists all the emoji that will be moving forward.

六個月後，一個稿件候選表會被建立，上面會有所有可以繼續推進的表情符號。

Vendors including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook will all see the list and weigh in on the designs.

Google、Apple、微軟、推特與 Facebook 等公司將會看這個表並討論設計。

In the final three months, Unicode's Common Locale Data Repository will establish a name for the emoji and record the name in languages other than English.

最後三個月，統一碼的公用區域性資料儲存庫將會為這些表情符號建立除了英文外，其他語言的名字。

Finally, the last step: designing.

最後一步，設計！

In the first quarter of the second year, the final candidate list will be sent to all the vendors to start designing.

第二年的第一季，最後候選稿件表會被送到各公司來設計。

Each vendor has their own style guide to follow.

每間公司都有自己的設計標準。

Any time a designer starts an emoji, they read the proposal, they look at the reference icons, and they confer with experts on the subject.

當設計師開始設計表情符號時，他們會閱讀提議書、看參考圖示，然後與專家商討。

For the case of the deaf emoji, we talked to the CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.

在設計聾人表情符號時，我們就與聽障人協會的執行長進行了對話。

We look at it very, very tiny and we say, "OK, are those legible when they're small?"

我們把它縮小到非常小，然後問說：「好，當它們很小的時候還看得懂嗎？」

And, of course, we try to anticipate what other folks are doing, which is why we talk to all of our friends in the Emoji Subcommittee.

而且，當然，我們也會試著預想其他公司會怎麼做，所以我們會與表情符號小組委員會的人對話。

And that's sort of the process for an emoji.

而這大概就是一個表情符號設計的過程。

Once all the designs are finalized, vendors will roll out the new emoji set, usually around the time they update their operating systems.

一旦所有的設計都決定好，那些公司將會推出新的表情符號組合，通常時間會在它們更新操作系統時。

Apple usually does it in the fall, around the same time iOS gets updated.

Apple 通常在秋天時推出，大概是在 iOS 更新時。

From start to finish, it could take almost two years before you see your emoji on your devices.

在從你的裝置上看到你的表情符號前，從開始到結束這件事可以花快兩年的時間。

So, if you have an idea, start working on it now.

所以如果你有點子，快動工吧！

And pro tip: The best time to submit is the beginning of each year.

一個專業建議：繳交提議書的最佳時間是每年開始的時候。

And when I came to the US, I didn't speak the language, but I ended up drawing stick figures to sort of express my ideas and also be understood.

我剛來到美國時並不會說英語，只能畫火柴人來表達我的想法。

And, so, working on the emoji decades later was really ironic because it's kind of doing that same thing of bridging those language barriers and having everyone understand one another.

做表情符號做了數十年還蠻意想不到的，感覺還是在做同一件事，也就是成為各種語言隔閡的橋樑，並使每個人可以理解彼此。

I think that's really beautiful.

我認為這是件很棒的事。