metalanguage

1. a language or set of symbols that is used to describe another language or set of symbols. Examples are English words used in teaching a foreign language, the instructions that accompany a computer program, and the use of mathematical symbols to analyze the logic of an argument (see symbolic logic). Also called second-order language.

2. any use of language to discuss or analyze language, as in formal linguistic study, literary criticism, or the attempts of speakers to make sure that they understand one another correctly (e.g., “When you said the book was unreadable, were you referring to the print quality or the author’s style?”).

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

psychonomic

adj. denoting an approach to psychology that emphasizes quantitative measurement, experimental control, and operational definitions, especially in the area of experimental, laboratory psychology. The word was coined to provide a name for the Psychonomic Society, which was created in 1959 by a number of experimental psychologists who were opposed to what they regarded as a swing in the American Psychological Association toward an emphasis on the mental health concerns of psychology. See experimental psychology.