Triangle of reference
Model in semiotics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The triangle of reference (also known as the triangle of meaning[1] 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 (1923) by Charles Kay Ogden and I. A. Richards.[2] While often referred to as the "Ogden/Richards triangle", the idea was also expressed in 1810 by Bernard Bolzano, in his Beiträge zu einer begründeteren Darstellung der Mathematik (Contributions to a more well-founded presentation of mathematics). The triangle can be traced back to 4th century BC, in Aristotle's Peri Hermeneias. The Triangle relates to the problem of universals, 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).
