what is the difference between である ＆ という


I'm using a new textbook, 中級を学ぼう- the blue cover, not the orange. And the
grammar point is using という at the end of the sentence. It means the same as
そうだ・らしい。The explanation says that it is frequently used in writing, so my
question is why would I use this grammar point? Especially when I can use である。

Example sentence: 今年の冬は記録的な暖冬だという。




The simple (possibly oversimplified) answer to this is:

  * Xである is from the copula だ・です, and it roughly translates to "(something) is X", and it states it in an authoritative tone. I think it isn't commonly used in speech, or necessarily in writing either, outside of say academic papers/textbooks etc. The という at the end of a sentence has a completely different function, and it tends to be used in formal contexts to indicate [hearsay](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hearsay).

  * Don't confuse this with XというY/XであるY however! XであるY and XというY roughly mean "Y which is X", although the latter can also be "Y which is called X". XであるY has a literary/formal/authoratative tone, and I don't hear it much in conversation, unlike という (or colloquial variants of という such as って).




The simple (possibly oversimplified) answer to this is:

  * Xである is from the copula だ・です, and it roughly translates to "(something) is X", and it states it in an authoritative tone. I think it isn't commonly used in speech, or necessarily in writing either, outside of say academic papers/textbooks etc. The という at the end of a sentence has a completely different function, and it tends to be used in formal contexts to indicate [hearsay](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hearsay).

  * Don't confuse this with XというY/XであるY however! XであるY and XというY roughly mean "Y which is X", although the latter can also be "Y which is called X". XであるY has a literary/formal/authoratative tone, and I don't hear it much in conversation, unlike という (or colloquial variants of という such as って).

