Metanotations

Metanotations are a form of metadata that describes or annotates other annotations. Essentially, they are annotations about annotations. The concept of metanotation arises in various fields, particularly in computer science and linguistics, where it's used to add extra layers of information or context to existing descriptive elements.

In programming, for example, a metanotation might specify the purpose of an annotation, its expected usage, or even provide constraints on how that annotation should be applied. This allows for more sophisticated analysis and manipulation of annotations, enabling tools to understand and enforce rules about how other annotations are used within a codebase. This can be crucial for code generation, static analysis, or documentation systems.

In linguistics, metanotations can be used to comment on the nature of a linguistic annotation itself. For instance, an annotation might mark a word as a noun, while a metanotation could describe the confidence level of that annotation or the reason why it was assigned. This meta-level information helps in understanding the annotation process and refining the annotation scheme. The core idea is to provide a framework for discussing, organizing, and governing the annotations themselves, rather than just the data they describe.