> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://glossary.ecsa.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://glossary.ecsa.io/metapragmatics.md).

# Metapragmatics

Metapragmatics is the space-time navigational agreement for the networks of agents. In linguistics, metapragmatics is used to describe a function of language that takes its own pragmatics or contextualized indexical functions as its object. The metapragmatic functions allow language to become self-reflexive and they are built into the structure of language. They allow you to build a shared memory with no central coordinator (a global mutable shared state, a one single agent with a global view, etc.), when everything is relative to the speech event, when you need to refer to someone in the past in the future (in a different space-time), and be able to allow multiple agents declare something into existence (a performative).