IRÈNE TAMBA: Ellipsis: a discourse and a metalinguistic phenomenon. The notion of ellipsis covers heterogeneous facts whose limits are unclear. It is therefore necessary. to list and briefly describe the data that are generally analyzed as ellipsis so as to reach a classification. Moreover, sorne facts that are not traditionally considered to be cases of ellipsis rnay be seen as such. How should the scope of the notion be defined? A few criteria are suggested: they are based on the level of analysis of the cases of ellipsis and on the notion of ellipsis itself, considered as suppression, omission or suspension. The aim is to deterrnine whether it is possible to give the notion a theoretical status or if, on the contrary, it covers unconnected points of view linked to historically dated views. The paper ernphasizes the relation between ellipsis and paraphrastic reformulation and the connection of ellipsis to syntax and semantics as well as to the speaker's attitude and to linguistic rnetalanguage.