Interdisciplinary Study Of Visual And Verbal Cooperation In Technical Document
Résumé
In this paper, we examine through a multidisciplinary
approach – at the crossroad of discourse analysis,
semiotics and cognitive psychology – text-figure relations in
technical communication. These relations are firstly
analysed by means of the inner structure of each mode of
expression, privileging an approach inspired by the
semiotics. Emphasis is placed on examining perceivable
realizations – in the figure, in the text and in the document
– which make the text and the figure complementary or
even indissolubly linked in the construction of the message.
Hypotheses formulated in this way are tested through an
experimental evaluation involving users of technical
documents. This step, in accordance with cognitive
psychology and ergonomics methods, confirms that text
and figure, sometimes cooperating, sometimes competing
in the expression of technical message, become equal
partners in its interpretation.