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referent. Meaning cannot be equated with the actual properties of
the referent, e.g. the meaning of the word water cannot be regarded
as identical with its chemical formula H2O as water means
essentially the same to all English speakers including those who
have no idea of its chemical composition. Last but not least there
are words that have distinct meaning but do not refer to any
existing thing, e.g. angel or phoenix. Such words have meaning
which is understood by the speaker-hearer, but the objects they
denote do not exist.
Thus, meaning is not to be identified with any of the three
points of the triangle.
The mechanism by which concepts (i. e. mental phenomena)
are converted into words (i. e. linguistic phenomena) and the
reverse process by which a heard or a printed word is converted
into a kind of mental picture are not yet understood or described.
Probably that is the reason why the process of communication
through words, if one gives it some thought, seems nothing short
of a miracle. Isn't it fantastic that the mere vibrations of a speaker's
vocal chords should be taken up by a listener's brain and converted
into vivid pictures?
The branch of linguistics which specializes in the study of
meaning is called semantics. As with many terms, the term
"semantics" is ambiguous for it can stand, as well, for the
expressive aspect of language in general and for the meaning of
one particular word in all its varied aspects and nuances (i.e. the
semantics of a word = the meaning(s) of a word). As Mario Pei
puts it in The Study of Language, "Semantics is 'language' in its
broadest, most inclusive aspect. Sounds, words, grammatical
forms, syntactical constructions are the tools of language.
Semantics is language's avowed purpose."

2. Types of meaning
It is more or less universally recognised that word-meaning
is not homogeneous but is made up of various components the

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