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ballad singer

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A performer who sings narrative ballads, often transmitting folk stories and cultural memory in musical form.

Detailed Definition
A ballad singer is a performer—historically oral and often itinerant—who recites or sings narrative ballads, preserving and transmitting folk stories, legends, or communal histories through melodic, rhythmic delivery; the singer’s role emphasizes memory, improvisation, and cultural continuity.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet who sings ballads, such as a wandering minstrel; A shepherd singing folk ballads; Traditional village ballad singers; A character in literature portrayed as ballad-singer
Additional Notes
ballad singer is the performer of a traditional ballad, whose role is to narrate the story, often with musical accompaniment; key to the oral tradition of the form.
Also Known As
balladeer ballad chanter folk singer narrative singer
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