Linguistic aspects of layout

One important aspect of document rendering or presentation is layout, i.e. the spatial (and temporal) arrangement of objects in the document.

Acoustic communication is in a sense one-dimensional: there is only one `independent variable', time. The other properties of speech are `dependent variables', and define the structure of words, phrases and longer units in utterances (prosody), or the composition of words (spectral characteristics of speech sounds). So the prosodic, in particular the temporal properties of speech are in a sense a kind of `acoustic layout'.

Visual communication is different: in addition to the temporal variable, there are the three spatial variables, not all of which may be relevant in any given situation.

Points for discussion:

1. What are the spatial and temporal properties of face-to-face communication?
2. What are the spatial and temporal properties of paper-based written communication?
3. What are the spatial and temporal properties of communication on the internet? -
   1. Email
   2. Chat
   3. Web

Points for thought:

1. Layout on the web consists of `boxes in boxes in boxes ...'
2. How are spatial dimensions used in hypertext presentation?
3. The temporal dimension involves movement. Where is movement involved in hypertext presentation?