In this paper we address the problem of accessing text information by text
navigation. We present an approach to text navigation conceived as a cognitive process
exploiting linguistic information present in texts. We claim that the navigational knowledge
involved in this process can be modeled in a declarative way with the Sextant language. Since
this language refers exhaustively to specific linguistic phenomena, we define a customized
text representation. These different components have been implemented in the text navigation
system NaviTexte. NaviLire, an application of NaviTexte is described.