metacomment

Metacomment refers to a remark that concerns the discourse in which it appears rather than the topic being discussed. It is a form of metacommentary, a statement about the act of communication itself, including the author’s stance, the reliability of a claim, or the organization of the text. In linguistics and rhetoric, metacomments are used to guide readers, signal transitions, or reveal editorial decisions. They differ from content-level statements by noting how the content should be interpreted or how the discussion is being structured.

In practice, metacomments may indicate uncertainty about a claim, acknowledge potential exceptions, or forewarn that a passage is provisional. Examples include phrases like “This is a tentative conclusion,” “I am noting a caveat,” or “This aside clarifies the issue but is not central.” Such comments help manage reader expectations and provide transparency about the author’s process.

Metacomments are a component of metadiscourse, together with hedges, stance markers, and frame markers. They are common in academic writing to orient the reader or preempt objections, and they also appear in online forums and collaborative texts where contributors explain rationale or moderation decisions. Critics may view excessive metacomment as interrupting the flow, while appropriate metacommentary can improve clarity and credibility.

Related terms include metadiscourse, metacommentary, and metacommunication. While metadiscourse covers a range of devices for guiding interpretation, a metacomment is specifically a commentary about that discourse itself, rather than about the domain under discussion.