GC: n
CT: Hypertext, also called Hyperlinking, the linking of related pieces of information by electronic connections in order to allow a user easy access between them. Hypertext is a feature of some computer programs that allow the user of electronic media to select a word from text and receive additional information pertaining to that word, such as a definition or related references within the text. In the article “whale” in an electronic encyclopedia, for example, a hypertext link at the mention of the blue whale enables the reader to access the article on that species merely by “clicking” on the words “blue whale” with a mouse. The hypertext link is usually denoted by highlighting the relevant word or phrase in text with a different font or colour. Hypertext links can also connect text with pictures, sounds, or animated sequences.
S: EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/technology/hypertext (last access: 15 January 2021)
N: 1. 1969, from hyper- “over, above” and text (n.).
2. In place of the verbal connectives that are used in normal text, such as topic or transition sentences, hypertext connects nodes … through links. The primary purpose of a link is to connect one card, node or frame and another card, frame or node that enables the user to jump from one to another. [David H. Jonassen, “Hypertext/hypermedia,” 1989].
3. A method of presenting computerized information that allows the display of documents in an associative way that mimics the human structuring of ideas, as opposed to the linear model of speech or writing.
4. Reading in hypertext is a discontinuous or non-linear process and is associative in nature, as opposed to the sequential process envisioned by conventional text. Associative reading is more difficult to follow than linear reading. Linear reading specifies the steps it has taken; associative reading is discontinuous – a series of jumps, similar to the lateral hops that the mind takes in creating a metaphor, for example. This discontinuity is not fortuitous; it is a basic aspect of the digital encoding of information. As an illustration of this, think of the contrast between the surface of a traditional phonograph record, with its continuous grooves, and the surface of a compact disc, with its distinct, discontinuous pits.
S: 1&2. OED – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=hypertext&ref=searchbar_searchhint (last access: 13 January 2021). 3. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=hypertext&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 15 January 2021). 4. CW – https://www.computerweekly.com/feature/White-Paper-An-analysis-of-the-differences-in-hypertextual-and-linear-discourse?_ga=2.196752172.1635806335.1610548709-1497725605.1610548709 (last access: 13 January 2021).
SYN: 1. hypertext system. 2. hyperlinking. (depending on context)
S: 1. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=hypertext&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 15 January 2021). 2. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/technology/hypertext (last access: 15 January 2021).
CR: interactivity
