%0 Journal Article
%T Language as the visual: Exploring the intersection of linguistic and visual language in manga
%A Giancarla Unser-Schutz
%J Image and Narrative : Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative
%D 2011
%I Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
%X In manga studies, a distinction is made between linguistic text (language) and visual language. However, because linguistic text is mediated by visual structures, there is a a tendency to assume that it is a secondary element. I would argue, however, that examination of both languages might give a better idea of how manga functions, and start that process here by looking at two manga text types: handwritten lines, thoughts and authorial comments. Visually differentiated from other texts, and more common in series for girls (sh¨­jo-manga), I compare them with ¨­tsuka's (1994) highly-visual monologues from 1970s/1980s sh¨­jo-manga, and demonstrate similarities to Takeuchi's (2005) mediator and spectator characters, and argue that these texts offer a sense of closeness to authors while also visually-coding data in terms of relevance. While non-essential secondary text, their visual-encoding offers a space of dynamic interpretation, with readerships able to ignore or read them as per their needs.
%K manga
%K linguistics
%K visual language
%K sh¨­jo
%U http://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/view/131