ABSTRACT

This chapter employs a multimodal social semiotic perspective which regards Nastaliq calligraphy not merely as a visual art or sub-branch of the fine arts, nor as a timeworn phenomenon in an obscure corner of the arts, but as an autonomous self-determining system that has been shaped in a specific social context with its own specific rules and principles in meaning-making. In other words, this chapter considers calligraphy in a way that goes beyond pure aesthetics in the visual fine arts and sees it as a distinct system of meaning-making that functions in its own right. Relying on the theory of multimodal social semiotics, the chapter examines the Nastaliq system of calligraphy as a whole and then each of its visual elements in detail. It applies the core values and concepts of social semiotic theory to describe the regulation system of Nastaliq, theorizes a distinct semiotic system, and finally proposes a structural framework and a grammar for this organizational system of semiotic resources. In short, in the light of contemporary theories (e.g., social semiotics, multimodality) and with an eye toward traditional notions and principles, this chapter offers a better understanding of this specific type of calligraphy – an understanding that is not necessarily comprehensive, but is reliable and somewhat inclusive.