Emoji use in Saudi university students’ WhatsApp communication: An interview-based discourse analysis

Background and Purpose: WhatsApp is widely used for academic and social communication among EFL university students, where emojis frequently accompany written text. While previous research has often classified emojis according to broad pragmatic functions, less attention has been given to how users themselves explain and construct emoji meanings in situated communication. This study therefore examines how Saudi female EFL university students discursively construct emoji use in WhatsApp communication. Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative interview-based discourse analysis approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fourteen Saudi female undergraduate EFL students enrolled in a Discourse Analysis course in 2023. The analysis focuses on participants’ accounts of emoji use in relation to relationship closeness, formality, group and private chat settings, cultural and religious identity, social expectations, gendered norms, and the risk of misinterpretation. Findings: The findings show that emojis are constructed not as decorative additions to text, but as socially regulated and culturally embedded semiotic resources. Participants described emojis as useful for expressing warmth, softening messages, maintaining politeness, signalling closeness, and indexing cultural belonging. However, emoji use was also viewed as risky in formal, hierarchical, group, cross-cultural, and mixed-gender contexts. Contributions: The study contributes to digital discourse research by showing how emoji meanings are negotiated through local cultural norms, academic expectations, and interpersonal relationships in Saudi EFL WhatsApp communication. Keywords: Emojis, discourse analysis, WhatsApp communication, Saudi EFL students, multimodal communication, cultural norms. Cite as: Abdel Rahman Fakhouri, S. A., Mahfoodh, O. H. A., Jamal, M., & Abdel Rahman Fakhouri, S. A. (2026). Emoji use in Saudi university students’ WhatsApp communication: An interview-based discourse analysis. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 11(2), 55-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol11iss2pp55-70