Narratology, as an academic discipline, derives mainly from three schools of thought and their corresponding
languages – Russian, French, and English. As there is much confusion regarding the meaning
of the key terms used in narratology − for example, narrative and narration − it seems necessary
to clarify the meaning and scope of these terms. To this end and through a critical look at existing
researches including those treating narrative from linguistics or semiotics point of views, firstly the
key terms “narrative” and “narration” are defined; secondly, the shortcomings of the existing definitions
are outlined. And thirdly, more comprehensive definitions of the two terms are introduced.
