Considerations regarding the "vocabulary" and the "grammar" of a spatial semiological structure

Abstract

For linguists, the investigation of gardens from a semiotical point of view, involves a very complex and challenging research material. The research may be conducted in many directions, incorporating numerous topics related to gardens. Gardens may be regarded as “spatial entities” organized by man, endowed with a high semiotic potential. Gardens may be considered “alive cultural phenomena” undergoing a continuous transformation and organization due to the fact that gardens’ identity is represented by nature and art. Gardens may be investigated and treated as “texts” allowing us to analyze the production of significance/meaning, pointing out the communicative effects within any spatial semiological entity. Our research aimed to examine the garden as a “text”, defining its “vocabulary” - its constitutive natural and artificial elements, and the “grammar” - the rules of composition and the manner the constitutive elements are put together or joined, corresponding to the aesthetic or utilitarian function typical of any spatial semiological structure.