Quotative

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A quotative is a word or particle that marks quoted speech. It keeps the original speaker’s person and tense, just like speaking aloud with quotation marks. In many languages, quotatives attach to the quoted phrase and link it to a verb of saying or to a content word that carries the message.

How quotatives work in general
- They signal that you are reporting someone’s exact words, not just paraphrasing.
- The form can be a verb (like “say”) or a special quotative particle or marker that follows the quote.
- Some languages preserve who spoke and when they spoke, while others use particles that show attitude or purpose of the quote.
- Indirect quotation (summarizing) uses different markers or quieter forms, but direct quotation relies on the quotative marker.

Examples from a few languages

English
- Direct: He said, "I am tired."
- Attitude emphasis: He was like, "I’m tired." (used to show feeling or an attitude rather than a precise report)

Japanese
- The quotative particle と (to) follows the quoted phrase: Ishida-san wa tomato ga suki janai to iimashita.
- Translation: Mr. Ishida said that he didn’t like tomatoes.
- Another example shows person and tense preserved: Kanojo wa boku ni "anata ga suki da" to itta.
- Translation: She told me that she liked me.

Korean
- The marker 라고 rago follows the quote: Joohyun ssi-neun jeo ege "niga joha" rago malhaesseoyo.
- Translation: Joohyun told me that you like (it).

Turkish
- Direct speech can be marked with the verb demek (to say) or with diye after the quoted speech when using another verb of utterance: O dedi ki, "Güzel."
- Simple direct quote: O, "Güzel" dedi.
- Translation: He said, "It's beautiful." (Using diye or ki/ dedi forms are common in Turkish)

Notes
- Different languages use different quotative markers, and some preserve details like who spoke and when, while others emphasize the listener’s or speaker’s attitude.
- In some languages, the quotative marker is tied to a specific verb of saying; in others, a particle attached to the quoted clause does the job.

In short, quotatives are the tools languages use to show exactly what someone said, with options that can reflect speaker, tense, attitude, and the relationship between the speaker and the listener.