Understanding と言う


Consider the phrase

> アリスという本

which native English speakers might understand as

> The book called "Alice"

**Question:** In English, we think of the name of the book as that which
people _call_ it. But I'm curious if in Japanese this is reversed, since the
phrase "アリスという" seems to literally translate to something like

> speaks, "Alice"

as if the _book_ is the object which is saying its name, rather than _us_.

So does the phrase "アリスという本" literally mean

> The book says "Alice"

?




The sentence "アリスという本" just lacks its subject. It can be rephrased to
"人々がアリスという本" (the book that people call Alice). What the implied subject means
depends on context and situation.




The sentence "アリスという本" just lacks its subject. It can be rephrased to
"人々がアリスという本" (the book that people call Alice). What the implied subject means
depends on context and situation.

