Evidence / Source Signal
How does the speaker know?
Meaning
A signal that marks whether information is seen, heard, inferred, assumed, reported, remembered, or generally known.
How to spot it
Ask whether the sentence shows the source of knowledge.
Examples
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
Language View
In your language
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
In learning language
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.
Learners may confuse そうだ for hearsay with そうだ for appearance.
New in your learning language
This block is more central in your learning language. Give it extra focus in examples and practice.