The triangle of reference also known as the triangle of meaning[1] and the semiotic triangle is a model of how linguistic symbols are related to the objects they represent. The triangle was published in The Meaning of Meaning 1923 by Ogden and Richards.[2] While sometimes known as the “Ogden/Richards triangle” the idea dates back until at least 1810, by Bernard Bolzano, in his Beiträge zu einer begründeteren Darstellung der Mathematik.Ogden semiotic triangle.pngThe relations between the triangular corners may be phrased more precisely in causal terms as follows: 1. The matter evokes the writer’s thought. 2. The writer refers the matter to the symbol. 3. The symbol evokes the reader’s thought. 4. The reader refers the symbol back to the matter.

via Triangle of reference – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.