The triangle of reference (also known as the triangle of meaning and the semiotic triangle) is a model of how linguistic symbols relate to the objects they represent. The triangle was published in ''

The Meaning of Meaning ''The Meaning of Meaning: A Study of the Influence of Language upon Thought and of the Science of Symbolism'' (1923) is a book by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards. It is accompanied by two supplementary essays by Bronisław Malinowski and F. ...

'' (1923) by

Charles Kay Ogden Charles Kay Ogden (; 1 June 1889 – 20 March 1957) was an English linguist, philosopher, and writer. Described as a polymath but also an eccentric and outsider, he took part in many ventures related to literature, politics, the arts, and philos ...

and I. A. Richards. While often referred to as the "Ogden/Richards triangle", the idea was also expressed in 1810 by

Bernard Bolzano Bernard Bolzano (, ; ; ; born Bernardus Placidus Johann Gonzal Nepomuk Bolzano; 5 October 1781 – 18 December 1848) was a Bohemian mathematician, logician, philosopher, theologian and Catholic priest of Italian extraction, also known for his lib ...

, in his ''Beiträge zu einer begründeteren Darstellung der Mathematik''. The triangle can be traced back to 4th century BC, in

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

's '' Peri Hermeneias''. The Triangle relates to the

problem of universals The problem of universals is an ancient question from metaphysics that has inspired a range of philosophical topics and disputes: Should the properties an object has in common with other objects, such as color and shape, be considered to exist be ...

, a philosophical debate which split ancient and medieval philosophers, especially realists and nominalists. The triangle describes a simplified form of relationship between the speaker as the ''subject'', a concept as an ''object'' or ''referent'', and its designation (''sign'', signans).

Interlocutory applications

Other triangles

The relations between the triangular corners may be phrased more precisely in causal terms thus: # The matter ''evokes'' the writer's thought. # The writer ''refers'' the matter to the symbol. # The symbol ''evokes'' the reader's thought. # The reader ''refers'' the symbol back to the matter.

The communicative stand

The triangle represents one person, whereas communication takes place between two entities; the latter can be represented by two triangles. When the two entities understand each other, the content that the triangles represent is aligned.

Direction of fit

John Searle used the notion of "direction of fit" to create a taxonomy of

illocutionary act The concept of illocutionary acts was introduced into linguistics by the philosopher J. L. Austin in his investigation of the various aspects of speech acts. In his framework, ''locution'' is what was said and meant, ''illocution'' is what was don ...

s. John Searle (1976) "A Classification of Illocutionary Acts", ''Language in Society'', Vol.5, pp. 1-24. The arrows indicate that there is something exchanged between the two parties in a feedback cycle, especially when the world is represented in both persons' minds and used for reality check.{{Editorializing, date=December 2012

References

External links