Metalinguistic

Metalinguistics is the branch of linguistics that studies language and its relationship to other cultural behaviors. It is the study of dialogue relationships between units of speech communication as manifestations and enactments of co-existence.Jacob L. Mey in his book, Trends in Linguistics, describes Mikhail Bakhtin's interpretation of metalinguistics as "encompassing the life history of a speech community, with an orientation toward a study of large events in the speech life of people and embody changes in various cultures and ages."

Jean Émile Gombert, who teaches genetic psychology at the University of Dijon, states that it is one thing to find an adequate way of treating the comprehension and production of language and it is quite another to succeed in adopting a reflexive attitude with regard to language objects and their manipulation. It is this second task that a recently developed psycholinguistic tradition has given the name metalinguistics. Linguist Noam Chomsky defines the field of metalinguistics as the subject's knowledge of the characteristics and functioning of language or, from a more functionalist perspective, of its structure, its functioning and its usage. The relevant psychological description cannot be made in the abstract. It requires that researchers and theorists widen their focus to the point where they can embrace the significance of behavioral acts in the cognitive context of subjects who perform them. French linguist Jules Gilliéron wrote: 'All awareness is necessarily "meta" from the point of view of the observer. It bears not on the real but on the intelligibility of the real.

Metalinguistic skills involve amplified and logical understanding of the rules used to govern language. Scholar Patrick Hartwell points out how substantial it is for students to develop these capabilities, especially heightened phonological awareness, which is a key precursor to literacy. An essential aspect to language development is focused on the student being aware of language and the components of language.

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