Telling the speaker apart from the person being spoken about


A recent [question about the usage of quoted
speech](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/17977/%E3%81%A8%E8%A8%80%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99-vs-%E3%81%A8%E8%A8%80%E3%82%8F%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99)
contained this interesting sample sentence:

> ハイリアの民は、ふしぎな力を あやつることが、できたと言います。

Often when I read this kind of sentence, I wonder if `ハイリアの民` is part of the
quoted sentence, or the actor doing the quoting.

That is, can this sentence only be read as "They say that the people of Hylia
were able to harness a mysterious power" (which seems to be the only reading
considered in the aforementioned discussion), or is "The people of Hylia say
that they (not necessarily the Hylians) were able to harness a mysterious
power" also a valid reading?

If only the first reading is valid, is this possibly due to the usage of the
particle `は` versus `が`, which would mark the speaker?




I would interpret it this way:

> 『ハイリアの[民]{たみ}は、ふしぎな力をあやつることができた』と言います。  
>  (They say that the people of Hylia were able to harness a mysterious
> power.)*

with or without the commas.

And I would write it this way:

> ハイリアの民は、不思議な力を操ることができたと言います。  
>  ハイリアの民は不思議な力を操ることができたと言います。  
>  or  
>  ハイリアの民は、不思議な力を操ることができた、と言います。

* * *

If ハイリアの民 was the subject of 言います, then I would expect something like this:

> ハイリアの民は、 **XXが、** ふしぎな力をあやつることができたと言います。  
>  or  
>  **XXは** ふしぎな力をあやつることができた、と **ハイリアの民は** 言います。  
>

* * *

*I interpreted your sentence this way maybe because of the words that are being used. If I read, for example:

> 山田さんは、幼いころ[竹馬]{たけうま}に[乗]{の}れた、と言います。

I would read it as "Mr Yamada claims that he was able to walk on stilts as a
child," with or without the commas.




I would interpret it this way:

> 『ハイリアの[民]{たみ}は、ふしぎな力をあやつることができた』と言います。  
>  (They say that the people of Hylia were able to harness a mysterious
> power.)*

with or without the commas.

And I would write it this way:

> ハイリアの民は、不思議な力を操ることができたと言います。  
>  ハイリアの民は不思議な力を操ることができたと言います。  
>  or  
>  ハイリアの民は、不思議な力を操ることができた、と言います。

* * *

If ハイリアの民 was the subject of 言います, then I would expect something like this:

> ハイリアの民は、 **XXが、** ふしぎな力をあやつることができたと言います。  
>  or  
>  **XXは** ふしぎな力をあやつることができた、と **ハイリアの民は** 言います。  
>

* * *

*I interpreted your sentence this way maybe because of the words that are being used. If I read, for example:

> 山田さんは、幼いころ[竹馬]{たけうま}に[乗]{の}れた、と言います。

I would read it as "Mr Yamada claims that he was able to walk on stilts as a
child," with or without the commas.

