Intertextual semantics: A semantics for information design

In most discussions about information and knowledge management, natural language is described as too fuzzy, ambiguous, and changing to serve as a basis for the development of large-scale tools and systems. Instead, artificial formal languages are developed and used to represent, hopefully in an unambiguous and precise way, the information or knowledge to be managed. Intertextual semantics (IS) adopts an almost exactly opposite point of view: Natural language is the foundation on which information management tools and systems should be developed, and the usefulness of artificial formalisms used in the process lies exclusively in our ability to derive natural language from them. In this article, we introduce IS, its origins, and underlying hypotheses and principles, and argue that even if its basic principles seem remote from current trends in design, IS is actually compatible with—and complementary to—those trends, especially semiotic engineering (C.S. de Souza, 2005a). We also hint at further possible application areas, such as interface and interaction design, and the design of concrete objects.