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erzählende

Erzählende is a German term that derives from erzählen, meaning to tell or narrate. It can function as an adjective meaning narrating or narrative, and it can also occur as a nominalized present participle, Erzählende, used as the noun for a narrator or storyteller. The concept is common in literary theory, linguistics, and media studies to denote aspects of storytelling and narrative voice.

As an attributive adjective, erzählende describes something that tells or conveys a story. Examples include die

As a noun, Erzählende with capitalization refers to the narrator or narrator-in-general. The singular is der/die

Distinctions: Erzählende differs from erzählerisch, which describes narrative style or manner, not a narrator per se;

erzählende
Stimme
(the
narrating
voice)
and
eine
erzählende
Perspektive
(a
narrative
perspective).
It
may
contrast
with
terms
for
specifics
of
narration,
such
as
der
auktoriale
Erzähler
(the
authorial
narrator)
or
der
personale
Erzähler
(the
personal
narrator).
Erzählende;
the
plural
is
die
Erzählenden.
This
noun
use
is
common
in
discussions
of
narrators
within
novels,
films,
and
plays.
Note
that
when
used
as
an
adjective
at
attributive
position,
it
is
lowercase:
eine
erzählende
Stimme.
and
from
Erzählung,
which
denotes
the
work
as
a
narrative
rather
than
the
act
of
narrating.
The
term
is
mainly
encountered
in
German-language
criticism
and
academic
discourse,
where
it
helps
specify
who
is
telling
the
story
and
how
it
is
told.