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I'm playing The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past（ゼルダの伝説：神々のトライフォース）and this
sentence came up (spoken by one of the 7 maidens):

> ハイリアの民は、ふしぎな力を  
>  あやつることが、できたと言います。

I think this means "It is said that the Hylian people could harness/manipulate
a mysterious power.". Why did they use `と言います` instead of `と言われています`? I
thought that's how you'd indicate a myth or some widely-believed story.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-26T18:26:02.760
17977
2014-08-01T14:40:40.777
4404
question
verbs conjugations
と言います vs．と言われています
The difference is very subtle, but there is a difference. With `と言います`, it
sounds as if the myth is actually true or people somehow believe it. With
`と言われています`, it sounds as if it is an actual myth. There is no rule that says
you must use `と言われています` when indicating a myth.

I've never played the game, but you can probably infer that the maiden
actually believes the myth and she is informing the player about it. That's at
least the impression I get with `と言います`, but again, the difference is very
subtle. It makes sense with either way.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T01:44:09.620
17980
2014-07-27T01:44:09.620
6891
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answer
It is very natural to interpret the sentence in the first way, as a Japanese
native speaker. However, the punctuation is not correct. ハイリアの民は、ふしぎな力を
あやつることができた、と言います。 is more correct.

If you would like to say in the latter manner, the following sentences are
appropriate: in a present sense, ハイリアの民は、ふしぎな力を あやつることできる、と言っています。 or, in a
past sense, ハイリアの民は、ふしぎな力を あやつることできる、と言っていました。.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-01T14:40:40.777
18078
2014-08-01T14:40:40.777
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answer