CHAPTER 1

1.1 Background
Semantics is one of the linguistic branches that focus on the study
of meaning (as an element of language). It includes the study of how
meaning is constructed, interpreted, clarified, obscured, illustrated,
simplified negotiated, contradicted and paraphrased by language. It is
definitely linked with another sub-discipline of linguistics, e.g. pragmatics.
Semantics is a highly theoretical research perspective and looks at
meaning in the language itself whereas pragmatics is a more practical
subject and interested in meaning (in language in use).
Some important areas of semantic theory are symbol and referent,
conceptions of meaning, and so on. symbol is something that we use to
represent another thing (a picture, a letter, a spoken or written word)
whereas referent is the thing which the symbol identifies. !ther area is
conceptions of meaning"
#. $ords % things
$ords &name' refer to &things' (found in the Cratylus of (lato
()*+-,)+ -.)).
*. $ords % concepts % things
/his theory was proposed by ..0. !gden and I.. 1ichards, in The
Meaning of Meaning (#2*,). /hey said that there is no direct
connection of symbol and referent, but an indirect connection in
our minds. /here is also a related concept for each word. /he
difficulty is in e3plaining what this concept is, and how it can e3ist
apart from the word, but it suggests that the concept is independent
of particular language symbols.
#
,. Stimuli % words % responses
/his theory was proposed by 4eonard -loomfield in Language
(#2,,). stimulus (S) leads someone to a response (r) as a speech
act. /he speech act is also a stimulus (s) to the hearer that leads to a
response (1) as an action or understanding.
53ample"
S % r.................s % 1
-etty is hungry, sees a banana (S) and asks -enny to bring it her
(r). -enny is hearing her (s) and bringing her (1) the banana.
In this article, I am going to write about mos6ue. It7s a mos6ue in
8ember, 5ast 8ava, Indonesia. /he famous mos6ue places near a town park
in 8ember, 5ast 8ava. I try to describe the meaning behind its architectures.
9os6ue is not only used for praying and the centre of Islamic activities,
but also the centre of Islamic art and culture. It was interested to make this
article because it is one of the uni6ue mos6ues in our country, Indonesia.
So, it actually has historical background why the builder built that and the
hide meaning of the architectures themselves. :ere, I will use the concept
of meaning above to identify the mos6ue.
;or your information, Indonesia is a big country with its varieties.
It has many differences in society, languages, ethnic groups, religions, etc.
/here is si3 religion which is believed by Indonesia people. /hose are
Islam, (rotestantism, .atholicism, :induism, -uddhism and
.onfucianism. In fact, Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia. It has a
larger 9uslim population than any other country in the world. /here are
*<*.2 million identified as 9uslim (==.*> of ) the total population in
*<<2. It shows that Islam has a big influence in this country. It makes me
interested to write this article.
*
CHAPTER 2
2.1 Discussion
8ami ? 9os6ue 8ember was built in #2+, and ended officially in
#2+@. t the first glance, this building resembles the building design 9(1
A B(1 in Senayan 8akarta. -ut 8ami ?is better known as the mos6ue
mushrooms. /he name of this fungus to the mos6ue is known throughout
sia and even 5ast 8ava. 8ami ?is built right in the centre of the west plaCa
8ember - the town s6uare, north of the mos6ue 8ami? long, built in the style
of the past that is filled with a line that influenced the design of the
building - the Butch building. 8ami7 mos6ue was original, but it had been
moved to the wider area for its e3tension, that is in the centre of 8ember
separated by the protocol road 8ember-Surabaya.
In this article, I has decided to discuss five points that describes
about some symbols in 8ami7 9os6ue 8ember. :ere, they are"
#. /he Spherical Shape of the Bome
*. /he Seven Bomes
,. /he Seventeen (illars
). 9ihrab and 9imbar
D. /he 9ihrab rch
/here are the descriptions of every point above"
#. /he Spherical Shape of the Bome
/he dome is spherical. It reflects to the e3tension of human
needs with no limit. /he spherical segments touched upon each
other reflects to the relationship between human needs with
another, in which religion and tradition are influenced by spherical
shape since Eubah as Sakrah building at 6sho mos6ue, known as
/he Bome of /he 1ock.
,
*. /he Seven Bomes
/he domes are seven. It reflects to stability. $e know that
llah S$/. has created seven skies and seven earths, seven days in
a week, and we also often hear seven times of reading &-ismillah'
or &Eulhuwallah' that reflects to a certainty.
/his mos6ue has a main dome D and * small dome as a
place wudlu. /he main dome of the D has # dome of the most
e3tensive, and has * floors. ;or the e3terior design is very simple,
only large dome that sprawled half-circle painted green with
yellow seam detail.
;or the dome, It is * floors of concrete reinforcement, all =
lines meet in the middle - the middle of the dome of the yellow
paint with a little decoration for air circulation.
/his simplicity is what makes fasat form of dome - the
dome is uni6ue, such as mushrooms that are = split. /he interior of
the mos6ue to the top of the sky - the sky is covered by a green
carpet of yellow colour contrasts with the concrete reinforcement.
;or the second floor of the main dome in the make line F /here is a
line of wood color, which makes the impression to balance cool
heat from the concrete domes and concrete reinforcement.
In the main domes there are various calligraphies. Surah
n-Gur, @) verses,It is written around the main dome completely.
/hey reflect to guidance for 9oslems who see them.
)
,. /he Seventeen (illars
/he number of &#+' is the 6uantity of pillars that sustain
the second floor in the main dome. It reflects to the three important
things, as follows"
a. /he date of the independence of our nation, Indonesia on
ugust #+
th
, #2)D.
b. /he GuCulul Eur7an is on #+ 1amadan that we celebrate it
every year.
c. It is also the 6uantity of five times of pray in a day, #+ rakaat.
). &9ihrab' and &9imbar'
&9ihrab' and &9imbar' are place for Imam and 0hatib.
/here are many Islamic arts and architectures. &9ihrab' is a place
for Imam leading the prayer in the mos6ue and as Eiblat directions.
(eople will bow in her sanctuary connected with the 0a?bah in
9ekkah. It is a place where Imam e3poses his face and his face as
a symbol of unity facing to the Supreme !ne.
&9imbar' reflects to a central attention of place for
9oslems in listening to the preaching of the preacher full of
messages and impressions about human life for Hod and societies.
&9imbar' is designed lu3urious because it could make jemaah to
pay attention to the preaching of the preacher messages and
impressions about human life.
D. /he &9ihrab' rch
&9imbar' will be tied to &9ihrab', consisting of three
arches that reflects religious trilogy Imam, Islam, and Ihsan. In the
D
&9ihrab' arch there are written letters, /aha verse #). /his is
because this verse means"
&Ierily, I am llahJ 4a illahaIlla na (none has the right to be
worshipped but I). So worship 9e, and perform s-Salat (i6amat
as-salat) for my 1ememberance&.
CHAPTER 3
3.1 Conclusion
;rom the e3planation above, I can conclude that Semantics is a
study of meaning, how meaning is constructed, interpreted, illustrated,
simplified, clarified, obscured, contradicted, and paraphrased. I decide to
analyCe 8ami7 l F -aitul mien as my sample. I observe five parts of the
mos6ue. I try to find the meaning beyond the symbol there.
@