metalinguistics

/ˌmɛtəlɪŋˈɡwɪstɪks/
noun
  1. The study of language as it relates to itself, including how people talk about language.
    • Metalinguistics explores how children learn to think about words and grammar.
    • Her research in metalinguistics focuses on how bilinguals switch between languages.
    • The course on metalinguistics covered topics like slang and formal speech.