Metalanguage for Literacy
Have you ever been to a party with your partner or friends who know individuals in completely different fields of work/study to your own? Have you nodded knowingly in the conversations you’re an audience member of, actually totally clueless to what’s going on? Perhaps you’ve been in a consultation with a professional like a doctor, lawyer, tradie who begins to use words you’ve never heard to try and explain something you need to know, that you cannot understand at all. “Can you use plain English for me?” is a line I have been privy to and have also uttered many times. This my friends, is the power of metalanguage and jargon which can unite and divide any individual that comes across them. For a breakdown of metalanguage, Richard Nordquist does a great job, but if you’re less of a linguist I’ve got a wonderful example from AITSL (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) where a Marylyn Pett is giving an explanation of her awareness of the power of metalanguage...