ABSTRACT
A body of empirical evidence indicates that interactional context has a key influence on the form and interpretation of language. This paper reviews a series of experiments which indicate that interactional context also plays a key role in the interpretation of drawings and sketches. Two graphical communication tasks, analogous to definite reference tasks, are described. The findings from these tasks show significant parallels between the mechanisms of coordination in graphical dialogue and natural language dialogue. Specifically; the coordination of graphical representation types by ‘dialogue’ participants, the contraction of recurrent ‘graphical referring expressions’, effects of direct interaction on the use of abstract drawings, and the development of community-specific graphical conventions.
