metalanguage
Linguistic description system
Metalanguage is language used to describe or analyze language itself.
When a grammar textbook explains what a noun is, it uses metalanguage.
Linguists employ metalanguage to discuss syntax, semantics, and phonology.
The term extends to any system of notation used to describe another system: The documentation uses a metalanguage to specify valid commands.
Meaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
- signMark conveying information
symbol · code · encoding · decoding · meaning-making · representation · communication · referent
Study of linguistic meaning
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- phonologyScience of language sounds
grammar · lexicography · phonetics · sociolinguistics · psycholinguistics · neurolinguistics · dialectology · bilingualism
Pointing to oneself
- quotationCited passage or price
- mentionBrief verbal acknowledgment
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
- scare quotesPunctuation implying doubt
Specialized professional vocabulary
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- technical vocabularySpecialized terms of a field
- argotGroup-specific coded speech
cant · slang · vernacular · idiolect · sociolect · academic discourse · scientific terminology
Syntax specification notation
- schemaOrganized representational structure
- markupAdded percentage for profit
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
- taggingAttaching identifying markers
signifier
Meaning-bearing form
- signifiedExpressed meaning symbolically
- denotationWord's explicit dictionary meaning
- connotationImplied sense, not dictionary
sign · symbol · code · encoding · decoding · meaning-making · representation · communication · referent · sense
semantics
Study of linguistic meaning
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
phonology · grammar · lexicography · phonetics · sociolinguistics · psycholinguistics · neurolinguistics · dialectology · bilingualism · multilingualism
self-reference
Pointing to oneself
- quotationCited passage or price
- mentionBrief verbal acknowledgment
- metacognitionAwareness of own reasoning
jargon
Specialized professional vocabulary
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
- technical vocabularySpecialized terms of a field
argot · cant · slang · vernacular · idiolect · sociolect · academic discourse · scientific terminology
BNF
Syntax specification notation
- schemaOrganized representational structure
- markupAdded percentage for profit
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
tagging · labeling · transcription · glossing
metalanguagetarget language
Language being acquired
primary language · natural language · direct speech · vernacular · everyday speech