Which term describes language used to describe language itself?

• A. Metalanguage
• B. Pragmatics
• C. Semantics
• D. Lexicon

Answer: (A)

Metalanguage is the language used to describe language itself. It includes terms and descriptions we use to analyze how language works—things like subject, predicate, sentence structure, and meanings of words. When you say that a sentence has a subject performing an action, you’re using metalanguage to talk about language rather than to convey information about the world. This separation between the language being described (the object language) and the language we use to discuss it (the metalanguage) is what defines it. The other terms relate to meaning, use, or vocabulary within language, not to describing language itself. Semantics studies meaning, pragmatics studies language in context, and the lexicon is a language’s vocabulary.