A semiotic analysis: phenomenon of the emoji use in the English chat by Indonesian gen Z in the wacana Whatsapp group

This research aims to find out the meanings contained in emojis used when communicating using WhatsApp and seeks to enrich the understanding of semiotics, especially signifiers, and signifieds, through online communication in the WhatsApp group of English Literature students "WaCaNa." From this research, we can understand how signifiers and signifieds are used and applied in online communication. In the WhatsApp application, there are emojis that message senders use to represent the emotions they feel when sending messages. This research uses Saussure's (1965) semiotic theory, which focuses on how culture and society shape language, and meaning is one of its significant contributions. The type of research used was qualitative research using semiotic analysis from Saussure (1965), which is used to see the meaning of the ―WaCaNa‖ WhatsApp group emoji. Qualitative and descriptive approach were used to examine the data obtained in this study. The data collection technique used is a documentation study by collecting screenshots of chat activities of English Literature students who are currently studying at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya class of 2021 who are Gen Z. The data analysis techniques used are data presentation, data classification, and semiotic analysis from Saussure. Through the analysis of screenshots of "WaCaNa" group chat activities, it is evident that the combination of verbal and visual cues enriches digital communication and allows the sender to convey emotions and reactions more effectively. Among the forty eight datas, forty two emojis aligned with the sender's verbal context, while six emojis showed a misunderstanding of meanings. The findings highlight that emojis play an essential role in communication among English Literature students at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, with usage essentially following standard writing conventions.