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Office, E.E. Metalanguage. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60962 (accessed on 23 October 2026).
Office EE. Metalanguage. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60962. Accessed October 23, 2026.
Office, Encyclopedia Editorial. "Metalanguage" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60962 (accessed October 23, 2026).
Office, E.E. (2026, October 14). Metalanguage. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60962
Office, Encyclopedia Editorial. "Metalanguage." Encyclopedia. Web. 14 October, 2026.

Metalanguage

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Metalanguage refers to language used to describe, analyze, or discuss another language or aspects of language itself [1]. In linguistics, metalanguage consists of specialized terms, concepts, and symbolic systems that enable the formal description of linguistic structures, including sounds, words, grammatical patterns, and meanings [2]. It is distinguished from object language, which is the language being analyzed, whereas metalanguage functions as the descriptive framework through which properties and relations within the object language are examined [1]. Metalanguage may be expressed through ordinary linguistic forms or through technical notation developed for linguistic analysis and theoretical description [3].

object language linguistic terminology linguistic analysis language description
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References

  1. John Lyons. Semantics; Cambridge University Press (CUP): Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1977. [CrossRef]
  2. P. H. Matthews. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics; Oxford University Press (OUP): Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 2007. [CrossRef]
  3. Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press. https://www.colinphillips.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/chomsky1965-ch1.pdf
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Subjects: Language & Linguistics
Contributor MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register : Encyclopedia Editorial Office
View Times: 2
Entry Collection: Language and Linguistics
Revisions: 2 times (View History)
Update Date: 22 Oct 2026
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