From the outset many radioplays have referred to literary works, but up to now radio adaptation of literature is regarded as subordinate to the ›true‹, the original acoustical play. The hierarchical relation is indicated by practical conventions as well as theoretical and research positions. The legitimation of radio adaptation — so the thesis — is connected with the legitimation of radioplay in general which still seems to be a delicate question. A side-glance into film history confirms that the enforced striving for originality results from unsolved problems of emancipation.