A statement is a communicative expression.
The first step to know the meaning of the term statement is to discover its etymological origin. In this case we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from the verb "enuntiare", which can be translated as "communicate" and that is the result of the sum of the following lexical components:
-The prefix «ex-«, which means «outwards».
-The verb «nuntiare», which is synonymous with «announce».
What is a statement
A statement is an expression that allows you to communicate something . It is a succession of words , generally made up of one or more sentences, with marked pauses that establish their limits.
In the specific field of linguistics , a statement is a sequence with its own intonation, global meaning and communication value . This means that the statement itself is enough to convey what it is intended to express.
The statements appeal to different linguistic forms according to the context.
An expression with linguistic form
A statement, in short, is an expression that appeals to a certain linguistic form in a certain context. In different areas, the same linguistic form can acquire different meanings (a literal meaning, an ironic meaning, etc.). In this way, the same sentence can constitute different statements.
If we focus on colloquial language, ideas such as statement, sentence and proposition are used as synonyms. However, it is possible to establish differences, beyond the fact that the definitions vary according to the theoretical school. The statement is usually taken as a pragmatic unit linked to its context . The sentence, for its part, is the syntactic sequence that allows the realization of the statement. As for a proposition, the term refers to the semantic and logical content of the sentence.
The statement, in this framework, is a concrete manifestation of a verbal activity . It can contain anything from a single word ( "Shut up!" ) to a non-sentential sequence ( "As promised, everything" ), including a text or a paragraph. The other units, like the sentence, are theoretical and abstract.
Types of statement
In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore the existence of different types of statements, among which the following stand out:
-Interrogative statements, which are those in which a question is asked of the interlocutor. An example would be: "When are you coming home?"
-Exclamatory statements, in which the person who expresses them vehemently makes evident his emotions, his ideas, his desires, his surprise... A good example of this type of statement would be the following: "I loved this group's concert!" !».
-Wishful statements, which are those that speakers use when communicating a wish that they hope will be fulfilled. An example of this type of statement would be: "My dream is to take a trip to New York."
-Imperative statements. These others are those used by a person to be able to get their interlocutor to carry out the order they are giving them. An example of this would be: "Bring me that briefcase that you have next to you" or "Do all the exercises that I have sent you today for tomorrow."
At the level of logic , finally, statements are the expressions that make up an argument. The premises and conclusion of the argument, therefore, are statements.