FROM ORAL TRADITION TO WRITTEN TEXT: THE EVOLUTION OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURES ACROSS CULTURES

Résumé

The transformation of narratives from oral tradition to written text represents one of the most significant transitions in human cultural history. This article examines how narrative structures evolve as societies shift from primarily oral modes of storytelling to literacy-based practices. Oral narratives are characterized by formulaic repetition, performative variation, and communal authorship, reflecting their reliance on memory, audience interaction, and situational context. In contrast, written narratives favor fixed forms, complex plot organization, authorial individuality, and elaborated stylistic devices. While these differences have been widely acknowledged, the mechanisms through which oral narrative structures adapt to written forms across diverse cultures merit deeper exploration.

Drawing on examples from African griot storytelling, Homeric epic, Native American oral traditions, and Japanese monogatari literature, the study demonstrates how written texts preserve, transform, or reinterpret oral structural elements. The transition to writing not only alters narrative technique but also reshapes cultural identity, authority, and the social functions of storytelling. The article argues that while written narratives often claim permanence and individual authorship, they retain deep structural imprints from their oral predecessors. Elements such as episodic organization, formulaic phrasing, rhythmic patterning, and thematic universality persist within written forms, albeit reshaped to fit new aesthetic and cultural expectations.

Methodologically, the study combines comparative literary analysis with insights from oral-formulaic theory, performance studies, and cultural anthropology. The findings reveal that the shift from oral to written storytelling is neither linear nor uniform. Instead, it involves a dynamic interplay between preservation and innovation, influenced by sociopolitical contexts, technologies of writing, and evolving cultural priorities. Understanding these patterns illuminates the processes by which narrative traditions adapt across time, offering broader insights into the relationship between language, memory, and cultural continuity.