locution

Locution is a term used in linguistics with several related senses. In its broad sense, it denotes an expression or utterance—the actual words spoken or written and their literal sense. A locution refers to the form and content of the utterance as it is spoken, distinct from the speaker’s intent or the effect the utterance aims to produce.

In speech act theory, locutionary act is one component of an utterance: the act of saying something with a certain linguistic form and literal meaning. The illocutionary act is the speaker’s communicative intent (such as informing, warning, requesting), and the perlocutionary act is the effect on the listener. The locutionary content is the proposition expressed by the utterance, i.e., its literal sense, separate from the illocutionary force.

Locution also has a broader sense as “an expression or phrase”—often a conventional or fixed expression whose figurative meaning may diverge from its literal wording. Idioms and set phrases are common examples, such as “kick the bucket” or “it's raining cats and dogs,” where the figurative meaning differs from the literal words.

Etymology: locution comes from Latin locutio, from loqui, “to speak.”

Usage notes: some authors treat locution as synonymous with utterance; others distinguish locution from proposition (the content) and from illocution (the intended function). In ordinary language, locution is frequently used to refer to a particular phrasing or expression as such.