Confusion about the use of と

I am a bit confused as to the use of と in the sentence “さとし と 言い ます”. The meaning of と according to users is “if, and, with, also” but I can’t understand how it makes sense. Wouldn’t it be better to use は?

私は、聡と言います。
私の名前は、聡です。
私は聡です。
聡と言います。
わたしは、さとしといいます。
わたしのなまえは、さとしです。
わたしはさとしです。
さとしといいます。

さとし=聡、敏、…

I am Satoshi.
My name is Satoshi.
Satoshi is my given name.
Ich heiße Satoshi.

In this case, と (to) doesn’t represent ‘with’ (which follows the noun), or ‘and’ (between two nouns), or serve to compare and contrast two nouns, or serve as a conditional: when, if, as soon as (which FOLLOWS the verb phrase).

Here, it is the particle used to mark the end of a sentence (a thought), which PRECEDES the plain form of verbs, like:

to say (to be called, to be referred to as) 言う
to think 思う
to listen/hear 聞く

In English, such verb phrases normally come at the beginning of the sentence,
but in Japanese they come at the end.

… と思います。 … I think.

明日は学校に行くと思います。
I think I’ll go to school tomorrow.

… と聞きました。 … I’ve heard.

私は彼が明日学校に来ると聞きました。
I heard he will come to school tomorrow.

… と言いました。 … he said.

彼は明日は学校に来ると言いました。
He said he’ll come to school tomorrow.

… と言います。 … I am called.

聡と言います。
My name is Satoshi.

Any mistakes I have made in this explanation, I am sure Yutaka can correct.

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No mistake. I am very impressed.

I found these grammar examples online, so don’t be too impressed.
But I felt I could do a good job explaining the particle in English :slight_smile:

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Thanks. It is making a more sense now.