| Abstract: |
In this article, the nature and role of visual presentation of lexical knowledge
will be discussed. Static viewing surfaces in printed dictionaries are compared with dynamic viewing surfaces in electronic dictionaries. Viewing surfaces are areas on which written and non-written visual elements are combined to units of meaning in a planned layout. Printed dictionaries present limited amounts of information in a static way, largely following the monomodal lines of writing. Online dictionaries, in contrast, make available infinite masses of information on dynamic viewing surfaces. It is their visual design which regulates access and assigns the requested data. This is why layout, topography, typography, multimodality, ergonomics and dynamics in online dictionaries are considerably more complex and powerful. The traditional model of rigid lists and clear lines is being replaced by a new model of structured surface with hyper-dynamic filling. Even more than in printed dictionaries, it is not so much grammar (as in linear texts), but the visual design which gives structure and relevant meaning to the information presented. The more the topographical arrangement of the characters contributes to meaning, the more noticeable the viewing surface will be a diagram. |