って (Colloquial Quotation Marker) Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Particle
Essential Meaning: Colloquial quotation marker
Construction: Quote + って
Notes:
- って (Colloquial Quotation Marker) is the colloquial form of と (Quotation Marker), so any quotation that can precede と (Quotation Marker) can also precede って (Colloquial quotation marker). The basic function of these particles is to mark a quote within a sentence.
- When って (Colloquial quotation marker) is used with a human subject, it can be ambiguous who the author of the quote is. The reporting verb 言う [To say / To tell] can be used to clarify that the subject is the one who is making the quotation. Otherwise, the sentence may come across as hearsay.
- E.g. ジェーンは踊らないって。[Jen says that she won’t dance. / They say that Jen won’t dance.] In this example, it is unclear whether it is Jen who says she won’t dance or whether it is some other person(s) who says that Jen won’t dance.
- E.g. ジェーンは踊らないって言っているよ。[Jen is saying that she won’t dance.] 言う makes it clear that Jen is the one who is being quoted.
- When って (Colloquial quotation marker) is not followed by any verb, 言う is the implied verb. So 言った, 言いました, 言っている, and 言っていました can be omitted after って (Colloquial quotation marker) without any change in meaning. However, this is not the case for と (Quotation Marker). Furthermore, other verbs that may follow って can not be omitted.
- E.g. 僕も行こうかって思いました。[I wondered if I should go too.] 思う [To think] (or any other verb besides 言う) can not be omitted after って.
- E.g. ジェーンは踊らないって。[Jen says that she won’t dance.]
- E.g. *ジェーンは踊らないと。[Jen says that she won’t dance.] 言う can not be omitted after と (Quotation Marker).
- Generally speaking, って is more emphatic and emotional than と (Quotation Marker) because glottal stops such as って are associated with emotionality in Japanese.
- When the author of the quoted statement is an unspecified person(s) rather than the subject, って (Colloquial quotation marker) resembles そうだ (Hearsay). The difference is that って (Colloquial quotation marker) is more informal than そうだ (Hearsay).
- E.g. ジェーンは踊らないって。[They say that Jen won’t dance.]
- E.g. ジェンは踊らないそうだ。[I heard that Jen won’t dance.]
- When specifying an information source with って (Colloquial quotation marker), the structure X が言っていたけど is used. With そうだ (Hearsay), によると is used to specify an information source instead.
- E.g. ジョンが言っていたけど、ジェーンは踊らないって。[According to John, Jen will not dance.]
- E.g. *ジョンによると、ジェーンは踊らないって。[According to John, Jen will not dance.] によると is not used with って.
- E.g. ジョンによると、ジェーンは踊らないそうだ。[According to John, Jen will not dance.] によると is used with そうだ (Hearsay).
Example Sentences:
ジェーンは踊らないって。[Jen says that she won’t dance. / They say that Jen won’t dance.]
今晩は雪が降るって。[They say it’s going to snow tonight.]
僕も行こうかって思いました。[I wondered if I should go too.]
WILD Examples:
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