NewMexiKen never thought of it this way before, but the very informative and useful book Photographic Composition (Tom Grill and Mark Scanlon) describes photo composition as the grammar and syntax of the visual arts.
A language without any rules or conventions is unintelligible. In the verbal medium, the applicable rules and conventions are called grammar and syntax. Effective communication requires that all parties involved know and employ the agreed-upon grammar and syntax patterns. …
In the language of the visual arts, grammar and syntax are called composition, which we define as the controlled ordering of the elements in a visual work as the means for achieving clear communication.
The authors believe that visual communication was much more primary until the invention of the printing press and that since humans have unlearned much of their ability to express themselves visually.
I read another book some months back that discussed this idea that the manner in which the human brain processes information and communicates has changed since the advent of the written word. These changes have been especially noteworthy since the printing press came along, making mass printings possible and books inexpensive, allowing the spread of literacy around the world. If anyone is interested the title is: The Alphabet Versus the Goddess; The Conflict Between Word and Image, by Leonard Shlain.