Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: An O or U with an umlaut , Ã -- , Ã can be seen as an emoticon , as the upright version of : O ( meaning that one is surprised ) and : D ( meaning that one is very happy ) .
Simplified: The letters Ã -- and Ã can be seen as an emoticon , as the upright version of : O ( meaning that one is surprised ) and : D ( meaning that one is very happy ) .