第八十四回 · 這裡的鄉談 The Local Speech Here — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

這裡的鄉談 The Local Speech Here

城chéng中zhōng的de街jiē道dào，我wǒ也yě認rèn得dé。這zhè裡lǐ的de鄉xiāng談tán，我wǒ也yě省xǐng得de，會huì說shuō。卻què才cái在zài飯fàn店diàn內nèi借jiè了le這zhè幾jǐ件jiàn衣yī服fú、頭tóu巾jīn，我wǒ們men且qiě扮bàn作zuò俗sú人rén，進jìn城chéng去qù借jiè了le宿sù，至zhì四sì更gēng天tiān就jiù起qǐ來lái，教jiào店diàn家jiā安ān排pái了le齋zhāi吃chī。城chéng中zhōng的de街jiē道dào，我wǒ也yě认rèn得dé。这zhè里lǐ的de乡xiāng谈tán，我wǒ也yě省xǐng得de，会huì说shuō。却què才cái在zài饭fàn店diàn内nèi借jiè了le这zhè几jǐ件jiàn衣yī服fú、头tóu巾jīn，我wǒ们men且qiě扮bàn作zuò俗sú人rén，进jìn城chéng去qù借jiè了le宿sù，至zhì四sì更gēng天tiān就jiù起qǐ来lái，教jiào店diàn家jiā安ān排pái了le斋zhāi吃chī。

逐句解 Line by line

城chéng中zhōng的de街jiē道dào，我wǒ也yě認rèn得dé。城chéng中zhōng的de街jiē道dào，我wǒ也yě认rèn得dé。

I know the streets inside the city.

認得 takes dé, the reading after verbs of knowing and recognising. He learnt the streets as a moth, in one evening.

這zhè裡lǐ的de鄉xiāng談tán，我wǒ也yě省xǐng得de，會huì說shuō。这zhè里lǐ的de乡xiāng谈tán，我wǒ也yě省xǐng得de，会huì说shuō。

The local speech here I understand too, and can speak.

鄉談 is country talk, the local dialect — and a party of four claiming to be horse traders would give themselves away in a sentence without it. 省 is xǐng here, to be aware of, to have grasped: 省得 is I understand it, and the 得 takes dé on the same footing as the 認得 in the breath before. ⚠ The same two characters come back later in the chapter as an entirely different word, shěng de, meaning to save oneself the trouble.

卻què才cái在zài飯fàn店diàn內nèi借jiè了le這zhè幾jǐ件jiàn衣yī服fú、頭tóu巾jīn，我wǒ們men且qiě扮bàn作zuò俗sú人rén，進jìn城chéng去qù借jiè了le宿sù，至zhì四sì更gēng天tiān就jiù起qǐ來lái，教jiào店diàn家jiā安ān排pái了le齋zhāi吃chī。却què才cái在zài饭fàn店diàn内nèi借jiè了le这zhè几jǐ件jiàn衣yī服fú、头tóu巾jīn，我wǒ们men且qiě扮bàn作zuò俗sú人rén，进jìn城chéng去qù借jiè了le宿sù，至zhì四sì更gēng天tiān就jiù起qǐ来lái，教jiào店diàn家jiā安ān排pái了le斋zhāi吃chī。

Just now I borrowed these few clothes and headcloths from an eating house. Let us dress as laymen, go into the city and take lodging, get up at the fourth watch and have the innkeeper put together a fasting meal.

借, borrowed, is doing a great deal of work here and Pilgrim uses it without blinking. 更 in 四更 is gēng, the night-watch reading: the night was divided into five watches, so the fourth is roughly one to three in the morning.

總評 Commentary

The plan is a professional one and this is where you can tell. Not a route, not a spell — clothes, an alibi, local speech, and a schedule that has them moving before daylight.

Knowing the dialect is the detail that gives it away as thought through. A monk can shave his head and put on a hat, but the first market-day question in a strange accent would finish them. Pilgrim went down as a moth and came back with the language.