narratiota

Narraatio, known as narratiota in its partitive form in Finnish, refers to the content and form of a narrative—the organized sequence of events as presented to an audience. In literary and media studies, narraatio is central to narratology, the field that analyzes how stories are constructed and perceived.

Core concepts commonly analyzed in narraatio include the story (fabula) and the plot (syuzhet), as well as characters, setting, and the temporal organization of events. The narrative voice, narrator, and the point of view (focalization) determine what information is available to the audience and how it is experienced. Time can be manipulated through order, duration, and frequency, producing devices such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, or non-linear structures. Narration can be external or internal, and reliable or unreliable, shaping interpretation and engagement.

Narraatio encompasses a range of techniques and forms across media. In literature, narration may be first-person or third-person, while in film, editing, camera perspective, and voice-over contribute to narrative presentation. Digital and interactive media can introduce multi-voiced or participatory narraatio, altering the relationship between storyteller and audience.

Historically, narratology emerged as a formal discipline in the 20th century, with scholars such as Gérard Genette and Tzvetan Todorov developing frameworks for distinguishing story, discourse, and narrative voice. In Finnish scholarship, narraatio is used to discuss literary texts, films, and other storytelling forms, with its grammatical use reflecting the language’s case system. Related terms in Finnish include kertomus, tarina, and tarinankerronta.