enoncé

Énoncé is a French term used in linguistics and logic to refer to a concrete unit of language. In linguistics, an énoncé denotes the actual spoken or written utterance produced by a speaker in a given context, including its linguistic form and situational details such as time, place, and audience. It represents the observable product of communication, and is often distinguished from the abstract content or proposition that can be attributed to it. The term is commonly contrasted with énonciation, the act of producing language, and with énonciateur, the speaker.

In formal logic and the philosophy of language, énoncé is used to describe a declarative sentence that expresses a proposition and can be assigned a truth value. Interrogative and imperative sentences are not typically classified as simple énoncés in this sense, as they perform illocutionary acts rather than state a proposition.

In French grammar, énoncé can mean either a sentence or an utterance, depending on the analytical focus. The English equivalents depend on context: utterance for the concrete act of speaking or writing, sentence or proposition for the content expressed. Translators and linguists choose the term that best matches whether the discussion concerns form, communicative act, or semantic content.

Originating from the verb énoncer, meaning “to state” or “to relate,” énoncé has widespread use in linguistic theory, discourse analysis, and logic, where precision about the level of analysis—speech act, form, or content—is essential.