meta-talkn.
/ˈmɛtətɔːk/, U.S. /ˈmɛdəˌtɔk/, /ˈmɛdəˌtɑk/ Originally: any higher-order discussion about language. Now usually: hidden meanings or significance in a conversation, etc. Cf. metacommunication n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > [noun] > indirect
body language1885
metacommunication1951
meta-talk1953
metamessage1960
1953 Mind 62 378 The meta-talk abounds in contextual and behavioural terminology.
1961 Philos. Q. 11 256 There appears to be no reason why such a language should not be taught directly to children without any of this meta-talk about the language which I have been giving.
1974 G. I. Nierenberg & H. H. Calero (title) Meta-talk: guide to hidden meanings in conversation.
1980 ELH 47 175 His manipulation of such codes..mirrors a more insidious production of meta-talk in the corporate world.
1992 Vancouver Sun 10 Dec. d3/1 The couple sometimes talk in overlapping dialogue as they offer their..unvoiced thoughts as they express, in meta-talk, what they think is acceptable to the other.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
meta-talkv.
/ˈmɛtətɔːk/, U.S. /ˈmɛdəˌtɔk/, /ˈmɛdəˌtɑk/ rare.
intransitive. To engage in higher-order discussion about (the language used by) a subject, person, etc.; to talk about talking.
ΚΠ
1948 W. Sellars in Philos. & Phenomenol. Res. 8 610 In so far as Jones himself ‘recognizes’ that the story is the story of his world, the sentences in which this recognition is formulated belong at a higher linguistic level than the sentences which describe his world... For the time being we shall meta-talk about Jones, ignoring the fact that Jones must meta-talk about himself.
Derivatives
ˈmeta-talking n.
ΚΠ
1993 Contemp. Sociol. 22 876/2 The introduction..and chapter 10..underscore the tension between talking and metatalking.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1953v.1948