Confusing use of と言えば


> 「おれは...」と田中が言えば、「おれは...」と吉田が言った。

Literally, "if Tanaka could say ... then Yoshida said ...".

What is the meaning of this structure? I've seen Aと言えば to mean "speaking of
A", but that doesn't seem to work here. Also Aと言えばB "When you think of A, then
B" doesn't make much sense either.




I think you are confused with the two usages of と言えば in different contexts.  

  1. Presentation of the topic   
東京と言えば東京タワーは見逃せない (Speaking of Tokyo / When it comes to Tokyo, we can't miss
Tokyo Tower)  

  2. if   
僕が「好きだよ」と言えば、彼女は「私も」と返事をするだろう (If I say "I like you", she would reply "me
too".




I think you are confused with the two usages of と言えば in different contexts.  

  1. Presentation of the topic   
東京と言えば東京タワーは見逃せない (Speaking of Tokyo / When it comes to Tokyo, we can't miss
Tokyo Tower)  

  2. if   
僕が「好きだよ」と言えば、彼女は「私も」と返事をするだろう (If I say "I like you", she would reply "me
too".

