Endursögn

Endursögn is a term in Icelandic used to describe the act of retelling or restating a text or event in one’s own words. The word combines endur- “again” with sagn “story” or “tale,” capturing the idea of telling a narrative anew.

In education and literary analysis, endursögn refers to a restatement of a source text that preserves core meaning, sequence, and essential details while the wording is reformulated. It is commonly used as an exercise to assess reading comprehension, language proficiency, and expressive ability. An endursögn can be delivered orally or in writing and varies in length depending on assignment or purpose.

Endursögn is related to, but distinct from, a summary. A summary concentrates on condensing the main points into a shorter form with little or no elaboration, whereas a retelling typically retains more narrative elements such as sequence, characters, and events, though it avoids exact phrasing from the original. The emphasis in an endursögn is on understanding and reexpressing the material rather than simply shortening it.

Practical approaches to producing an endursögn include identifying who did what, where and when events occurred, and why they matter, followed by paraphrasing sentences and, when appropriate, incorporating brief dialogue or descriptive detail. In broader uses, endursögn also appears in folklore and storytelling traditions as a way to pass on narratives through oral retelling, sometimes with stylistic adjustments or local emphasis. Related concepts include paraphrase, summary, and adaptation.