Physical metaphor

In this paper, the system of language and architecture has been studied in three levels of elemental, structural and semantic in cases of traditional and modern mosques in Iran through the method of analyzing the content of texts and in a conceptual model. Then, in a comparative method, the common patterns of these systems have been explained at all three levels. The common features at the elemental level included double-edged signs, the notion of sign value, as well as syntagmatic relations. Concepts such as the two-way functioning of the systems, textuality and spatial cohesion were identified at the structural level. The concepts of marking, explicit and implicit meanings, and metaphors were investigated at the semantic level of the architecture of the mosques. In the following, the variables were categorized in tables based on the concepts and the data were analyzed through inferential analysis. Then, the findings were coded based on the indices of each variable. On this basis, it became clear that the common patterns, the mental forms of the language sign system can be translated into the physical forms of the architecture system through representation. The respondent also reads or interprets based on a picture or a represented form when confronting the representation. The research findings indicate that readings are based on the collective language and interpretations are based on the individual’s personal language. In the meantime, the cultural, historical, and ethnic contexts, as well as the role of mass media are of high prominence.