| The present study explores the role of linguistic deviation in evoking intuitive and epistemic experiences for readers of mystical texts, focusing specifically on The Conference of the Birds by Attar of Nishapur. Anchored in the framework of Threshold Theory from cognitive linguistics, the research analyzes syntactic, semantic, and rhetorical anomalies as deliberate tools to transmit mystical experiences. Using a qualitative and interpretive methodology with a cognitive approach to language, the study examines selected verses containing linguistic irregularities. Drawing upon core concepts of Threshold Theory, conceptual metaphor, and cognitive blending, the analysis reveals that such deviations actively disrupt conventional meaning-making and propel the reader toward deeper interpretive engagement. These disruptions – marked by cognitive pauses, suspended meanings, and logical fractures – facilitate a transition from surface understanding to lived, intuitive insight. Rather than being mere violations of standard language, these deviations are foundational mechanisms that render truth experientially accessible. Threshold Theory thus provides a compelling framework for reinterpreting the language of mysticism, with broader implications for literary, linguistic, and rhetorical analysis. |
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