The Oxford Dictionaries 2015 word of the year isn't a word. In fact, it's an emoji. What does this mean for the changing status of language in the digital age?

And while the emoji’s official name is “face with tears of joy,” I’d guess we were all using it so much because 2015 was a year in which we laughed, if only to keep from constantly crying.

Instead of picking an actual word that you could find in an actual dictionary, Oxford Dictionaries has declared the word of the year to be an emoji – specifically, the ‘face with tears of joy ...

An emoji is Oxford Dictionaries word of the year and that just solidified the lack of faith I have in the future of expression through words — Pfizer Crane (@GideonSlaygo) November 17, 2015 ...

Mr Gwinn will be part of the team that decides Australia's Word of the Year shortlist, but he said the emoji would not make an appearance. "There might be a hashtag term there. "That's all I can say.