Evidence / Source Signal
How does the speaker know?
意味
A signal that marks whether information is seen, heard, inferred, assumed, reported, remembered, or generally known.
見分け方
Ask whether the sentence shows the source of knowledge.
例
apparently|I heard|it seems|they say
I heard that|apparently true|it looks like
Apparently, the train is late.
Visual guide
claim: the train is late
^
evidence layer:
how does speaker know?
I heard / it seems / apparently
Apparently, the train is late.
Evidence choices: seen -> direct I heard -> heard they say -> reported it seems -> inferred apparently -> indirect
言語別ビュー
母語の仕組み
Japanese has useful hearsay and inference markers, though not a mandatory evidential system.
電車が遅れているそうです。
I hear that the train is late.
学習言語では
English has lexical evidential signals such as apparently, reportedly, I heard that, but no broad obligatory evidential system.
Apparently, he left early.
apparently = evidence/source signal
Learners may not distinguish direct knowledge from reported information in formal writing.
Usually lighter in your learning language
Do not over-transfer this pattern from your own language. It is often less explicit in your learning language.