了 - 今天不看了

[Yuca007]

大家好！

Two parents dicuss with their daughter her university choices and the workload involved. The mother finally says: 今天不看了
Just a clarification, she means to tell her to stop studying/reading for today, right? As in "Don't ready anymore today", the 了 implying a change? Just before the discussion started, the daughter was seen busy with her books in the background.

谢谢！

 

[SuperXW]

Wow, the usage of 了! Prepare to get a deep discussion here...
Me first:
I my opinion, the essential function of 了 is to signify an action or a sentence is finished or partly finished. Here, both the action and the sentence would be finished, so 了 should be added.
Yes, in your case, the sentence means "stop studying/reading" or "Don't read anymore today."
(Sometimes people use it when they've made a decision, making the sentence sounds more conclusive. Like the "consider it done" feel.)

 

[Sheeni]

了 sometimes uses to express what you feel,like English INTERJECTION: oops, ew. wow.etc.
So 今天不看了,了 means nothing.