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metalinguistics

American  
[met-uh-ling-gwis-tiks] / ˌmɛt ə lɪŋˈgwɪs tɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)
  1. the study of the relation between languages and the other cultural systems they refer to.


Etymology

Origin of metalinguistics

First recorded in 1945–50; meta- + linguistics