ANALYSING THE STRUCTURE OF ARCHITECTURE AND LANGUAGE

(Muhammad Sibawaihi | u7163963)

1. Prologue
This essay analyses architecture and utterance as two creative approaches to a 'way of
knowing’ the world, specifically in Asia and the Pacific, as they are socially co-
constructed and representative mediums of a community. In some indigenous
communities, architecture is arranged according to function and use, as well as meaning
and value. Meanwhile, language has been the object of research for more than 2,500
years, as humans have used language to express ideas. This essay is encouraged to
answer to what extent these two approaches can be used as creative tools in academia,
and what are their common characteristics?
This essay uses 'structure' as an analytical keyword to uncover how these two
approaches are used as a 'way of knowing, as well as to be able to analyse their
common characteristics. This essay employs 'structure' as architecture relies on the
arrangement of materials, while language relies on the arrangement of words and
sentences. It is also driven by the fact that structure plays an essential role in organising
ideas neatly and directing the readers through the whole flow of academic writing.

2. Discussion
As this essay employs structure as an analytical tool, it argues that these two
approaches: (1) can communicate the idea of collective identity as both are socially co-
constructed, (2) generate specific patterns of agreed structures, which in both
approaches present a metaphor and symbols, and (3) both approaches are closely
related to performativity, as the nature of the two approaches has shifted and changed
from time to time. In addition, in several studies, both structures are used to regulate
and form power relations involving action or performativity.
 2.1. The common characteristics
Noam Chomsky (2013)1 explains that language is formed from unlimited power as
an association of ideas and sounds, which then becomes a fundamental human
property. It is the sublime mind of someone who wants to find means to
communicate2. From this point, a person then structures ideas and sounds with
different arrangements to transform their ideas for others. It is from this
transformation of ideas and sounds that an agreement on language construction
emerges and builds a common identity.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that architecture and identity are interrelated 3. As
an example, Schefold, R. and Nas, Peter J. M. (2008:) 4 explain that the direction of
the Acehnese traditional houses (where the main door is on the north or south
side) indicates pre-Islamic times, as of Hindu belief, the entrance of a house
should not be oriented towards the sunset given its association with darkness and
black, the colour of death (see. Figure 1). In this sense, the structure of the
building characterises the condition of the community at that time. Meanwhile,
with the theory of 'form follow function', modern architecture admittedly learned
a lot from history to create a characteristic (identity) of modern architecture 5. On
the other hand, architects in Pakistan are now more focused on new concepts
and designs to show a new identity by re-questioning the relationship between
tradition, authority, craftsmanship with humans, nature, and the nature of living
in the post-colonial world6.

1
Chomsky, Noam. “LECTURE I: WHAT IS LANGUAGE?” The Journal of philosophy 110, no. 12 (2013): 645–662.
2
Ibid.,647.
3
Mand, Harpreet. “Asia: Identity, Architecture and Modernity.” Journal of architecture (London, England) 18, no. 1
(2013): 59–78.
4
Schefold, R., and Nas, Peter J. M. Indonesian Houses: Volume 2: Survey of Vernacular Architecture in Western
Indonesia. Leiden:BRILL. 2008. Accessed August 26, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
5
Seelow, Atli. “Function and Form: Shifts in Modernist Architects’ Design Thinking.” Arts (Basel) 6, no. 4 (2017): 1–.
6
Moffat, Chris. “Building, Dwelling, Dying: Architecture and History in Pakistan.” Modern Intellectual History 18,
no. 2 (2021): 520–46. doi:10.1017/S1479244320000025.
 Furthermore, these two approaches also share a common characteristic in terms
of using symbols and metaphors. According to Nietzsche in Jose Medina (2005) 7,
each language produces its own metaphor. A metaphor is the essence of
language that gives rise to overarching relativism. Thus, there is no objectivity in
any language8. That is, it confirms the construction of specific structures in
language inherent social, political, and cultural contexts. Consider the use of

7
Medina, Jose. Language: Key Concepts in Philosophy: Key Concepts in Philosophy. London: Bloomsbury Publishing
Plc. 2005. Accessed August 28, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.
8
Ibid., 123.
 orphan child in Arnold Ap' song (1980-1981). Ap uses orphan children as a
metaphor from West Papua that the Dutch abandoned and neglected under
Indonesia9. In the context of Meratus, South Kalimantan, Induan Hiling uses a
melodic structure and includes metaphorical references. Her songs turn the
beautiful but passive vegetation into a very active element for voicing gender
roles in the shaman tradition10.

Meanwhile, in North Lombok, Indonesia, the vital role of women in agricultural

management can be seen from the spatial metaphor (see Figure 2). In a
traditional house, there is a particular room called Bale Mengina or a mother's
house, which is only accessible by women 11. It is in this room that the seed mating
ritual is carried out before the planting season arrives. At the same time, women
can only do this seed marriage ritual. The author finds symbolisation in the Koko
Bale (a building used for meetings) in the people of East Flores, Indonesia.
Different symbols were carved on each pillar, representing each clan. The

9
Webb-Gannon, Camellia, and Michael Webb. “‘More Than a Music, It’s a Movement’: West Papua Decolonization
Songs, Social Media, and the Remixing of Resistance.” The Contemporary Pacific 31, no. 2 (2019): 309–343.
10
Lowenhaupt Tsing, Anna. “‘Riding the Horse of Gaps’: A Meratus Woman’s Spiritual Expression.” In
Creativity/Anthropology, 100–130. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2018.
11
Sibawaihi, Muhammad, Ijtihad, Ahmad and Rosidi, Ahmad. "Pengaruh Perubahan Arsitektur Rumah Adat
Terhadap Pariwisata dan Budaya". In Menggaungkan Suara Marginal: Cerita dari kawasan timur Indonesia. Edited
by Farhan, F., Esti, K., Sudrajat, D., Novianda, AH. CIPG Jakarta (2019):25-52.
 metaphorical essence of these symbols is the division of the area of authority and
socio-economic and belief systems (see Figure 3).
2.2. Performativity: change, adapt and power construction.
Architecture and language are related to performance. This essay emphasises the
action or behaviour of human change rather than changes to architecture and
language itself. This essay argues that changes produced by humans have an
impact on how human employs these two approaches. Thus, it is acceptable to
propose an analysis of these two approaches in the framework of performativity.
Language has changed (structure, specialisation, birth, and death of language)
over the past 6,000, which is influenced by human development and change 12,
like the Austronesian language family, which grew to 1,300 languages 13. Modern
studies on language distribution proved that the rapid spread of Austronesian
speakers was associated with the development of rice farming in eastern Asia 14.
Humans communicate through actions and place their self in language-games. In
language-games, speakers are required normatively to perform structured
actions. Language (in this sense, utterance) is governed by rules that speakers
make in the games they play, such as commands, statements or telling stories 15—
drawing on how the storyteller values Mughal India, playing language as
performance is highly depicted16. The value of the story may change based on the
storyteller's performance. On the other hand, this performativity also addresses
the other side of language in relation to power relations. Specifically, Pasha Khan

12
Mufwene, Salikoko. “The Origins and the Evolution of Language”. in the oxford handbook of The History of
Linguistics. Keith Allan ed. Oxford University Press. 2013.
13
Himmelmann, Nikolaus P and Daniel K. “Austronesia” in The Oxford Handbook of Language Prosody. Edited by
Carlos Gussenhhoven and Aoju Chen. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford Academic, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198832232.013.28.
14
Thomas, Tim, ed. Theory in the Pacific, the Pacific in Theory: Archaeological Perspectives. Milton: Taylor &
Francis Group. 2020. Accessed August 28, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central
15
Medina, Jose. Language: Key Concepts in Philosophy: Key Concepts in Philosophy. London: Bloomsbury
Publishing Plc. 2005.
16
Khan, Pasha M. “What Storytellers Were Worth in Mughal India.” Comparative studies of South Asia, Africa, and
the Middle East 37, no. 3 (2017): 570–587.
 M (2017)17 mentioned that storytelling could be used as a 'means' to gain
proximity to power.

From an architectural perspective, Nakamal in Vanuatu can be used to reference

how 'buildings act' and or ‘actions on buildings' reflect power relations. As a social
space, Nakamal was built in the middle of a residential area so that it is easily
accessible to everyone because this building accommodates government, courts
and kastom ceremonies (see Figure 4). However, Nakamal also articulates the lack
of women's roles in the structure of Vanuatu society because Nakamal is male
dominated18. On the other hand, the Nakamal structure has adaptive capacity to
environmental hazard. Christian Coffier (1988) mentions that the Nakamal
structure is designed to withstand cyclones that often occur in the Pacific region 19
(see Figure 5).

17
Ibid., 58.
18
Christie, Wendy. “Safeguarding Indigenous Architecture in Vanuatu”. Apia: UNESCO Office for the Pacific
States/UNESCO Apia, 2017.
19
Coiffier, Christian. Traditional Architecture in Vanuatu. Suva: University of the South Pacific, 1988.
3. Conclusion
This essay has described the common characteristics of architecture and language, with
the employed structure as the analytical tool. The choice of 'structure' as the entry point
to explain these two approaches is driven by the fact that both architecture and
utterance are based on structure. Architecture relays on material arrangement, while
language (in this sense, utterance) also on the arrangement of words.
Throughout the theoretical analysis, this essay concludes that both approaches share six
common characteristics: (1) that they are socially co-constructed, (2) they contain
elements of symbol and metaphor, (3) they accommodate social values and belief
systems, (4) create gender division, (5) related to the structure and power relations, (6)
change and adapt from time to time.
4. Bibliography

Chomsky, Noam. "Lecture I: What Is Language?". The Journal of Philosophy 110, no. 12 (2013):
645–662.
Christie, Wendy. "Safeguarding Indigenous Architecture in Vanuatu". Apia: UNESCO Office For
the Pacific States/UNESCO Apia, 2007.
Coiffier, Christian. “Traditional Architecture in Vanuatu”. Suva: University of the South
Pacific, 1988.
Himmelmann, Nikolaus P and Daniel K. “Austronesia”. In The Oxford Handbook of
Language Prosody. Edited by Carlos Gussenhhoven and Aoju Chen. Oxford
Handbooks. Oxford Academic, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198832232.013.28.
Khan, Pasha M. “What Storytellers Were Worth in Mughal India.” Comparative studies
of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East 37, no. 3 (2017): 570–587.
Lowenhaupt Tsing, Anna. “‘Riding the Horse of Gaps’: A Meratus Woman’s Spiritual
Expression.” In Creativity/Anthropology, 100–130. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 2018.
Mand, Harpreet. “Asia: Identity, Architecture and Modernity.” Journal of architecture
(London, England) 18, no. 1 (2013): 59–78.
Medina, Jose. Language: Key Concepts in Philosophy: Key Concepts in Philosophy.
London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 2005.
Mufwene, Salikoko. “The Origins and the Evolution of Language”. in The oxford
handbook of The History of Linguistics. Keith Allan ed. Oxford University
Press. 2013.
Moffat, Chris. “Building, Dwelling, Dying: Architecture and History in
Pakistan.” Modern Intellectual History 18, no. 2 (2021): 520–46.
doi:10.1017/S1479244320000025.
Schefold, R, and Peter J. M Nas. Indonesian Houses: Volume 2: Survey of Vernacular
Architecture in Western Indonesia. Leiden: BRILL, 2008.
Seelow, Atli. “Function and Form: Shifts in Modernist Architects’ Design Thinking.”
Arts (Basel) 6, no. 4 (2017): 1–.
Sibawaihi, Muhammad, Ijtihad, Ahmad and Rosidi, Ahmad. "Pengaruh Perubahan
Arsitektur Rumah Adat Terhadap Pariwisata dan Budaya". In Menggaungkan
Suara Marginal: Cerita dari kawasan timur Indonesia. Edited by Farhan, F.,
Esti, K., Sudrajat, D., Novianda, AH. CIPG Jakarta (2019):25-52.
Webb-Gannon, Camellia, and Michael Webb. “‘More Than a Music, It’s a Movement’:
West Papua Decolonization Songs, Social Media, and the Remixing of
Resistance.” The Contemporary Pacific 31, no. 2 (2019): 309–343.
Thomas, Tim, ed. Theory in the Pacific, the Pacific in Theory: Archaeological
Perspectives. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group. 2020. Accessed August 28,
2022. ProQuest Ebook Central