Triplesidos

Triplesidos are a theoretical construct in semiotics and narrative theory that describes how three interrelated interpretive frames combine to produce a cohesive meaning. The term combines tri- (three) and sidus (Latin for star), invoking a three-star configuration that radiates a single interpretation when the three perspectives align.

A triplesido consists of three frames—semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic—though other triads can be used. Each frame supplies a distinct dimension of meaning: what is said, how it is said, and how it functions in context. A triplesido is realized when signs from all three frames overlap such that omitting one frame leaves gaps in interpretation, and the overlapping region yields a robust understanding.

Triplesidos can be rigid, requiring strict consistency among frames, or flexible, allowing partial overlap. In practice, analysts identify a triplesido by mapping elements of a text onto the three frames and checking for cross-frame coherence.

The concept is used in literary criticism, media studies, and cross-cultural communication to diagnose interpretive disagreements and to guide synthesis of multiple perspectives. It emerged in scholarly discussions of triadic meaning-making in the late 20th to early 21st century and has since been developed in methodological discussions about triangulation in hermeneutics.

In analysis, a narrative or discourse may exhibit a triplesido when a protagonist’s intent, a textual cue, and an audience’s inferred payoff align to illuminate the work’s central tension. See also triangulation, triadic analysis, semiotics.