Japanese with Manga

According to Alicia with 〜によると

Grammar Explanation: According to with 〜によると and 〜によれば

Manga panel from ARIA The MASTERPIECE showing example of According to Alicia with 〜によると.
ARIA The MASTERPIECE » Volume 3 » Page 317

Akari, Aika, and Alice take the train to visit with Grandmother, the founder of Aria Company. Upon arrival, they disembark with their luggage.

藍華(あいか):
「…さてとっ　アリシアさんの話(はなし)によると」
“Now then, according to Alicia...”
「グランドマザーが駅(えき)まで迎(むか)えに来(き)てくれているはずだけど？」
“Grandmother should be here at the station to meet us, though...?”

Key Points

1アリシアさんの話(はなし)によると names the source
  • アリシアさんの話(はなし) means “what Alicia said”. Adding によると gives “according to what Alicia said”.
  • Alicia supplied the information. The next line says what Aika expects on that basis.
2はず expresses an expectation
  • Aika expects Grandmother to be at the station to meet them. はず gives the sense of “should be” or “is supposed to be” based on information she has.
  • The trailing だけど？ leaves a “but…?” hanging. Aika sounds puzzled as she looks for the person she expected to find.
3迎(むか)えに来(く)る means “come to meet someone”
  • 迎(むか)え is the stem of 迎(むか)える, and に marks the purpose of coming. Grandmother is coming to meet the arriving girls.
  • 駅(えき)まで gives the endpoint of her trip, the station. The people she is meeting, “us”, are understood from the scene.
4来(き)てくれている presents her visit as a favor
  • 来(き)てくれる describes Grandmother coming for the girls’ benefit. Grandmother remains the person doing the action.
  • With 〜ている, Aika expects her to have come and be there now. The line is about her expected presence at the station.

See Also

ARIA The MASTERPIECE © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.