A Comparative Study of Sima, Manzar, and Chesm Andaz as Persian Equivalents of Landscape in English

With the translation of Kevin Lynch’s book, the “Image of the City”, new literature was added to Iranian architecture and urban planning. In this book, Image, the picture (or perception) of the city was translated to “Sima” regardless of its linguistic roots. With the introduction of the landscape architecture discipline, a new theoretical framework was added to the architecture and urban planning literature. Later, “Chesm Andaz” was also used by some experts as an equivalent for the term “landscape”. The use of these three words interchangeably has caused confusion in the translation of the concept of landscape or narrowed down its real meanings. This comparative study drew upon the European Commission’s definition of landscape to examine the extent to which vocabulary can convey the meaning of landscape in Persian. This study employed library research and lexicographical analysis. The two basic components of the landscape are dependence on the external place and the importance of the human mind and perception in his interactions with the environment. Nazar, in the language of Iranian thinkers, is a dynamic tool used for raising new awareness based on the perception of sensations, and “Manzar” is the name of the place in which this phenomenon occurs. Compared to “Sima,” and “Chesm Andaz”, “Manzar” conveys a more complete sensory perception, and especially compared to “Chesm Andaz”, perception is distant and does not necessarily have a positive attribute. “Manzar” and “Sima” are not synonymous and interchangeable in terms of meaning. “Sima”, in the late meaning, is focused on form and does not express the subjectivity behind the form, therefore it can be considered a landscape form. The observer’s continuous conflict with the form of “Manazar” and is accompanied by its memories implies him from the image to the landscape. Compared to the stability of “Sima” and “Chem Andaz”, the level of the “Manzar” is more compatible with the dynamics of the landscape.