Linguistic learning: a new conceptual focus in knowledge visualization

In this paper we examine the metaphorical face of knowledge visualization and weave our observations into a wider perspective. We discuss a fundamental, but less scrutinized, precondition: the interrelation of metaphor, linguistic learning, and mediation of knowledge through visualization. By presenting preliminary thoughts on this interrelation, we wish to avoid the risk of simplification within this new field of research and to provide a potential theoretical foundation.