Ivor Amstrong Richards developed the theory of the semantic triangle with Charles Kay Ogden in their 1923 book The Meaning of Meaning. The theory holds that (1) misunderstandings in language arise from the arbitrary relationship between symbols, thoughts, and real world objects, (2) words can have different meanings to different people based on their experiences and references, and (3) metaphors are effective at minimizing misunderstanding by facilitating comprehension. Richards used the terms "tenor" to refer to the principal subject of a metaphor and "vehicle" to refer to the borrowed idea or resemblance.

2.  Ivor Amstrong Richards (1893-1979
England)
 Inspired by the work of Charls Kay
Ogden(1889-1957)
 Collectively wrote the book “ The Meaning
Of Meaning” in 1923.
 Largely influence by the work of Francis
Bacon “The Idols Of The Market Place “
Bacon’s blief that “ Language functions as a
potential barrier to understanding” inspired
Richards to view rhetoric / speech/
conversation/ language as a study of
misunderstanding and its remedies.

3. Theory is about:
1. Misunderstanding of language/ meaning
and its remedies
2. TO understand the Semantic Triangle
A B
 T dog

3. TH RELATIONSHIP IS NOT ICONIC IT IS
ORBITRARY.
SEMAN
TIC
TRIAN
GLE
SEMAN
TIC
TRIAN
GLE
Thought/
mind
symbol Refrent/
object
Barking
4 legs animal
Dog

4. 4. Another Problem in human communication is that we
tend to confuse “ symbol” or “word” with the thing or
object in reality. This led Richards, in his explanation of
the theory “ Proper Meaning Superstition”.
5. Symbol “ dog” is not the thing or reality.
6. A word/the meaning actually is in the mind of the
people not in the word.
7 .Word’s meaning is interpreted by the people according
to their past/ present experiences. For example liking or
disliking any thing , any object, any pet any book etc.
This liking or disliking is in the mind / experience of the
person which is actually called the reference in the mind
of the listener/ speaker.
8 . This developed the proper meaning superstition
which means that a single meaning is not possessed by
the word. The word has its meaning according to the
listener who has a different reference from the other
person who listens it.
9 . According to this theory that it is superstitions that
word has only a single meaning, rather words have
meanings according to the experience of the people.

5. The Use of Metaphor:
1. According to Richards, the use of
METAPHOR is the best for
understanding the meaning of the word
. He says metaphor are the best or
suitable for the sake of comprehension
of the situation/ meaning . He says, “
metaphors are effective in facilitating
the comprehension and therefore
minimizing misunderstanding.”
For example, the plumber and Biologist

6. 2. In discussing metaphor, Richards
makes the use of two tems; “tenor” and
“vehicle”. The tenor refers to the
principal subject of the metaphor while
the vehicle conveys the underlying idea ,
the borrowed idea or what the tenor
resembles. For example, in “ my kitten
is as white as snow.” the tenor is the
kitten is the vehicle is the snow ( i.e.
characteristics of whiteness/ whitening
are being attributed to the kitten.