Definition

1. Noun:
   • A language used to describe or analyze another language: A metalanguage is a specialized language or system of symbols employed to discuss, describe, or analyze the structure, rules, or properties of a different language (the object language).

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Linguists often use a formal metalanguage to describe the syntax of natural languages.
  • The textbook introduces a simple metalanguage for explaining grammatical concepts.
  • In logic, the distinction between an object language and a metalanguage is crucial to avoid paradoxes.

Advanced Usage

• Metalinguistic function: Refers to the use of language to talk about language itself, which inherently employs a metalanguage.
  • When a teacher corrects a student's pronunciation, they are performing a metalinguistic function.
• Meta-metalanguage: A language used to describe a metalanguage, creating a hierarchy of languages.
  • The discussion about the rules of the linguistic metalanguage itself requires a meta-metalanguage.

Variants and Related Words

• Metalinguistic (adj): Pertaining to metalanguage or the analysis of language.
  • She conducted a metalinguistic analysis of the conversation.
• Object language (n): The language that is being described or analyzed by a metalanguage.
  • In this study, French is the object language, and English is the metalanguage.

Synonyms

• Descriptive language: Language used for description, often in a technical context.
• Formal language: A precisely defined set of symbols and rules, often used as a metalanguage in logic and computer science.

Related Phrases

(This word does not commonly form phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

(This word is a technical term and is not typically used in idioms.)

Noun

1. a language that can be used to describe languages