The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a discourse viewpoint to the discussion of what is generally referred to as ‘non-verbal communication’ or, as the author posits, ‘graphically representational’ language. He deals with the act of graphic representation, as it constitutes both an important aspect of linguistic communication and a particularly problematic area in the work of the translator. However, the scope of the investigation is limited to the ‘vividly descriptive’ sense of the graphic, excluding purely non-verbal aspects such as punctuation.