To deny something you've been told?

Question

I've come across the following sentence in a book:

あの様な、って言われてもなぁ……俺は特に何も思わなかったぜ？

From what I've come across on the internet, correct me if I'm wrong of course, 言われても means "even if told/even though I was told" whilst implying that you are rejecting or denying what you've been told. So considering this when I try to translate the above sentence, the latter part of the sentence doesn't seem to fit because it's a question.

I think the above sentence translates as "even if I've been told he was like that…… I didn't think much of it?"

(For context the person is replying to a question that goes something like this "was he always like that from the start"")

The fact that the sentence is apparently a question confuses me 10x more. Is the person saying the above sentence indeed trying to deny what they've been told?

Answer 1

「あの様{ざま}な、って言{い}われてもなぁ……俺{おれ}は特{とく}に何{なに}も思{おも}わなかったぜ？」

You are confusing yourself by thinking that the second half is a question; It is not. Look closely at its structure and it should start looking like a statement. 「ぜ」 is a masculine, statement-emphasizing, sentence-ending particle.

What is the question mark for, then, you ask, right? That just means that the second half is to be read with a rising intonation at the end.

Why a rising intonation, then? That is because the speaker's opinion on the matter clearly differs from that of the listener (or whoever said 「あの様な」) and the speaker is just a little bit confused or uncertain, causing him to make that statement in the way (= using a rising intonation) he could express that small amount of confusion and uncertainty.

You could say that the speaker is denying what he has been told, but it is not such a strong denial. The speaker knows that he has a different opinion or impression but opts to leave some room for discussion by using a "question-like" rising intonation at the end.

"Even though I was told he/it was like that, I myself didn't really think much of it (, you know?)"

Answer 2

Yes, in a sense, he's trying to deny "あの様【よう】な", which was said by someone in front of him. The key fact is あの様な ("like that") already has a negative connotation in this context. He is concerned about how the phrase あの様な was used by the other person.

You should have provided more context before his line, but for example, consider the following context:

• A: 彼って何か変よね。彼は、最初からあの様な感じだったの？
  Well, he is kinda strange. Is he really like that from the beginning?
• B: あの様な、って言われてもなぁ……俺は特に何も思わなかったぜ？
  "Like that?" Well, I felt nothing particular about him, you know?

A more literal translation of the first half would be "even though you say 'like that', hmm (I'm puzzled)." And note that 特に何も思わない refers to the past attitude of "he", not what the speaker has just been told.

The question mark at the end represents a rising intonation, and it means the speaker is expecting the other person's response. So it's just "what do you think?", "you know?" here.

(By the way I think this あの様 is likely to be read as あのよう, while あのざま is not entirely impossible.)