narració

Narració is the act and art of recounting events or a story, whether spoken, written, or broadcast. It concerns how a sequence of actions, characters, and settings is organized in time and presented to an audience, with attention to perspective, voice, and purpose. In Catalan usage, narració is the standard term for narration across literature, film, theatre, and journalism.

Etymology and related terms: The word derives from Latin narrare, “to tell.” It forms the noun narració from the verb narrar, and its common derivatives include narrador (narrator) and narratiu (narrative). The term is closely linked to other Catalan words for storytelling, such as relat or històries, depending on context.

Forms and techniques: Narration can be first person, second person, or third person, and can be omniscient or limited in its access to characters’ thoughts. The narrator’s reliability and voice shape how events are interpreted. Time can be linear or non-linear, with devices such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, or multiple narrative levels used to manage information and suspense. In cinema and radio, narration may appear as voice-over (narració en off) or as integral storytelling.

Contexts and scope: Beyond fiction, narració is used in journalism and documentary storytelling to present facts in a cohesive sequence, and in rhetorical and academic settings to organize discourse. In literary theory, narratology studies the structures and functions of narrations, including focalization, narrative distance, and the relationship between narrator and reader.