Nuance

Another gem from the recording studios.....

A fairly typical scenario: a businessman returns to his office after lunch and his assistant passes on the messages left while he was out.

"Someone calling himself Professor Li phoned. He asked for you to call him back as soon as possible."

How we laughed!

And this is a slightly tricky one to explain, because it is possible, native speakers do use this construction from time to time.

But.... it's a very non-standard way of introducing someone's name. And it tends to imply doubt or disbelief.

That is to say, you'd use it when you find the person's name odd, unlikely, laughable, and you're inclined to make a joke about it.

Or maybe when you're hesitant about passing the information on because you're worried you got the name down wrongly and are looking for confirmation or reassurance from the person you're telling.

Or where you think the person was obviously using a fake name - a phoney, an imposter, call the police!

But not when you're simply passing on telephone messages.