Examples of METALLINGUISTIC function of language

Language is the mechanism that humans use to communicate. Different communicative elements intervene in it that serve to transmit information. These elements together with the Language functions, are what make communication effective. In this lesson we want to focus on one of those functions and from a PROFESSOR we bring you examples of metalinguistic function so you can easily understand and distinguish it.

The metalinguistic function is included within the functions of language. These have to do with different aspects in which the deferents are taken into account language elements. In a communication, therefore, the following intervene: sender, receiver, message, code, channel and code.

On the other hand, the language, in addition to having these elements, also has different functions that determine the intentionality or purposes of the speaker, so that the message reaches the transmitter. Thus, we can distinguish 6 Language functions:

• Conative or appellative function: used to order or request something from the receiver.
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• Referential function: is used to provide information.
• Expressive function: express a feeling or state of mind on the part of the issuer.
• Poetic function: expresses beauty, the important thing is the way the message is expressed, not the message itself.
• Phatic function: communication is ensured, that is, if a contact can be established to convey the message.

Definition of metalinguistic function

The metalinguistic function is part of these language functions therefore it is used to establish communication. This has a specific purpose and is to explain or clarify some concept of the language itself. This will be used when language speaks of the language itself, in other words, when it is used to apply definitions or explain concepts related to it.

Thus, metalinguistics is used when communicating something that has to do with the code we use to speak or write. It is present in linguistics books, in didactic texts on this subject, in dictionaries, or in this very post that you are reading.

In dictionaries you will find many texts with a metalinguistic function since it contains the meanings of words, their etymology and the type of word they are dealing with. On the other hand, grammar books are also a reliable source for showing examples of the metalinguistic function of language, since in them you will find the rules of use by which governs.

As you can see, the metalinguistic function of language is what is used to talk about itself. Now, so that you can be much clearer about this concept, we are going to provide you with a series of examples that will help you understand what we are talking about when we refer to this function. Most of them have been taken from dictionaries and grammar manuals since they are the texts that best represent this function.

• Verbs are conjugated according to their verb tense and agreeing with the person and the number to which we are referring. The conjugation of a verb tense must include the first, second and third person singular and plural.
• Dictionary: 1. m. Repertoire in the form of a book or in electronic format in which the words are collected, according to a specific order or expressions of one or more languages, or of a specific subject, accompanied by their definition, equivalence or Explanation. 2. m. Catalog of news or data of the same genre, arranged alphabetically. Bibliographic, biographical, geographical dictionary.
• Encyclopedic dictionary: 1. m. dictionary that, in addition to the common words of a language, contains proper names of prominent characters, events, places, etc.
• Historical Dictionary: 1. m. Dictionary that aspires to contain all the words of a language that exist and have existed, as well as the variants that they present.
• Ideological dictionary: 1. m. dictionary that associates and orders the words conceptually.
• Ellipsis: In printed texts they always appear glued to the word or the sign that precedes them, and separated by a space of the word or the sign that follows it (including the ellipsis marking an omitted text in a appointment); but if what follows the ellipsis is another punctuation mark, no space is left between the two.
• In written language, proper nouns, whether of people or things, are always capitalized at the beginning, regardless of their position in the sentence.
• The words and phrases, although they are the same, can have different meanings and different interpretations depending on the context and place in which the communication takes place.
• Even if the words are similar and have many letters in common, simply changing one letter can change the meaning completely. For example, the words hand and monkey, despite only differing by one letter, have completely different meanings, one is an animal, while the other is a part of the human body.