THE Metalanguage it is the language that describes itself. That is, it uses the code itself to explain it.
It is worth remembering that we use metalanguage a lot in our daily lives. When we ask the meaning of a certain word we are using the metalinguistic function.
Furthermore, it is used in cinema, visual arts, literature, advertising, etc.
Examples of Metalanguage
As examples of metalanguage we can mention:
- a photographer's self-portrait;
- the photo of a camera in advertising advertisements;
- the painting of an artist painting;
- the film that describes about cinema;
- the text that speaks of writing;
- the drawing of someone drawing.
Metalanguage in Grammars and Dictionaries
Notable examples are the grammars and dictionaries that explain the linguistic code and its rules through the language itself, for example:
voices of the verb
As for the voice, the action expressed by the verb can be represented in three ways: active voice, passive voice and reflective voice."
(Compact grammar mini manual)
meaning of poetry
Art of composing through verses; mode of artistic expression characterized by the use of specific rules, sounds or syntactic structures.
[Literature] Literary genre composed by this mode of expression.
[Literature] Poem; the artistic work in verse, through the line of a poetic text that respects rhythmic rules.
[Literature] The art of the poet; the artistic and poetic ensemble of a group, of an era: modern poetry.
[Figured] Characteristic of what is defined by beauty and sensitivity: there was poetry in her actions.
[By Extension] Nature of what is inspiring and moving: the poetry of brotherly affection.
(Definition of Dicio - Online Portuguese Dictionary)
Metalanguage in Literature
disenchantment
I make verses like someone crying
Of dismay...of disenchantment
Close my book if for now
You have no reason to cry.
My verse is blood. Burning lust...
Scattered sadness...vain remorse...
It hurts in my veins. Bitter and hot,
It falls, drop by drop, from the heart.
And in these lines of hoarse anguish,
That's how life flows from the lips,
Leaving an acrid flavor in the mouth.
I make verses like someone who dies.
Manuel Bandeira uses metalanguage in disenchantment insofar as the content of the poem refers to the construction of poetry and its verses.
Metalanguage in Painting
In the canvas of the Dutch painter Van Gogh, the metalinguistic function is notorious. This is because he uses the canvas, which is intended to house a painting, to describe this very artistic language. Furthermore, the painter portrayed is the author of the work.
Metalanguage in Music
one note samba
Here is this samba
Done in a single note,
Other notes will enter
But the base is one.
This one is a consequence
from what i just said
As I am the inevitable consequence of you.
how many people are there out there
Who talks so much and says nothing,
Or almost nothing.
I've used the full scale
And in the end there was nothing left,
nothing came of it
And I went back to my grade
how do i get back to you
I will have a note
How I like you.
And who wants all the notes
Re-Mi-Fá-Só-Lá-Si-Do
It is always without any
Stay on a note only.
In this example, we can conclude that the author used the metalinguistic function where the music speaks of samba, that is, of a musical style.
Metalanguage in Cinema
There are numerous cinematographic works that use metalanguage in order to explain the language of cinema.
A film that focuses on presenting cinematic discourse through its structure is using metalanguage to explain its own code.
Metalanguage in Advertising
Metalanguage is a resource widely used in advertisements and advertisements.
In the advertisement above, we have an advertisement that speaks of itself and, therefore, uses the metalinguistic function.
Intertextuality and Metalanguage
THE intertextuality is a resource used between texts in a way that establishes a dialogue between them. It can occur implicitly or explicitly.
Metalanguage is a resource used to describe the language that is being used.