Smiling is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles around the mouth and eyes that denotes pleasure, sociability, happiness, or amusement. While smiling is generally viewed positively across cultures, some cultures see excessive or inappropriate smiling as suspicious or dishonest. Cultural differences exist in when and where smiling is acceptable - for example, Japanese may smile when confused or angry, while Americans often smile at strangers in public places. A smile can be either spontaneous or artificial depending on the situation and culture.

1. Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth and
by flexing muscles throughout the mouth. Some smiles include contraction of the muscles at
the corner of the eyes (also known as 'Duchenne' smiling). Among humans, it is an expression
denoting pleasure,sociability, happiness, or amusement. This is not to be confused with a
similar but usually involuntary expression of anxiety known as a grimace. Smiling is something
that is understood by everyone, regardless of culture, race, or religion; it is internationally
known. Cross-cultural studies have shown that smiling is a means of communication
throughout the world. But there are large differences between different cultures. A smile can
also be spontaneous or artificial.
Cultural Differences
While smiling is perceived as a positive emotion most of the time, there are many cultures that
perceive smiling as a negative expression and consider it unwelcoming. Too much smiling can
be viewed as a sign of shallowness or dishonesty. Japanese people may smile when they are
confused or angry. In other parts of Asia, people may smile when they are embarrassed. Some
people may smile at others to indicate a friendly greeting. A smile may be reserved for close
friends and family members. Many people in the former Soviet Union area consider smiling at
strangers in public to be unusual and even suspicious behavior. Yet many Americans smile
freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians
believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don't
smile enough. In Southeast Asian and Indian cultures, a smile is frequently used to
cover emotional pain or embarrassment.

2. "Smiley face" redirects here. For the 2007 film, see Smiley Face (film). For other uses,
see Smiley (disambiguation).
Smiley
A smiley or smiley-face emoticon (sometimes simply called a happy or smiling face) is typically
depicted as :-) or (:. The smiley is a stylized representation of a smiling humanoid face, an
important part of popular culture. The classic form designed in 1963 comprises a yellow circle
with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth; internet
versions typically employ a colon and a right parenthesis. "Smiley" is also sometimes used as
a generic term for any emoticon.
The variant spelling "smilie" is not as common but the plural form "smilies" is commonly used.
By: Hamza Mommou
E-mail:Hamza_Mommou@outlook.com