我的奶奶一辈子没有离开过我们的村子。
Wǒ de nǎinai yíbèizi méiyǒu líkāi guò wǒmen de cūn zi.
My grandmother never left our village in her whole life.
她不会说普通话。
Tā bù huì shuō pǔtōnghuà.
She could not speak Mandarin.
她说的词，书里找不到，词典里也找不到。
Tā shuō de cí, shū lǐ zhǎo bù dào, cídiǎn lǐ yě zhǎo bù dào.
The words she spoke cannot be found in books or dictionaries.
那是我们村的方言。
Nà shì wǒmen cūn de fāngyán.
It was the dialect of our village.
在她嘴里，太阳叫日头，下雨叫落雨。
Zài tā zuǐ lǐ, tàiyáng jiào rì tóu, xià yǔ jiào luò yǔ.
In her mouth, the sun was called sun head, and rain was falling rain.
问人吃过饭没有，她只说两个字，吃了吗。
Wèn rén chī guò fàn méiyǒu, tā zhī shuō liǎng gè zì, chī le ma.
To ask whether someone had eaten, she said just two words: eaten yet?
我小时候，说的也是这种方言。
Wǒ xiǎoshíhou, shuō de yě shì zhè zhǒng fāngyán.
As a child, I spoke that same dialect.
在村里，人人都这么说。
Zài cūn lǐ, rén rén dōu zhème shuō.
In the village, everyone spoke that way.
笑他说话像广播里的人。
Xiào tā shuōhuà xiàng guǎngbō lǐ de rén.
They laughed that he talked like someone on the radio.
七岁那年，父亲带我进了城。
Qī suì nà nián, fùqīn dài wǒ jìn le chéng.
When I was seven, my father took me into the city.
城里的学校不说我们的方言。
Chéng lǐ de xuéxiào bù shuō wǒmen de fāngyán.
The city school did not speak our dialect.
我说的词，同学们听不懂。
Wǒ shuō de cí, tóngxué men tīng bù dǒng.
My classmates could not understand my words.
有人学我的口音，教室里一片笑声。
Yǒu rén xué wǒ de kǒuyīn, jiàoshì lǐ yī piàn xiào shēng.
Some imitated my accent, and the classroom filled with laughter.
我红着脸，一天没有说话。
Wǒ hóng zhe liǎn, yī tiān méiyǒu shuōhuà.
My face burning, I did not speak for a whole day.
从那以后，我开始改。
Cóng nà yǐhòu, wǒ kāishǐ gǎi.
From then on, I began to change.
我把日头改成太阳。
Wǒ bǎ rì tóu gǎi chéng tàiyáng.
I changed sun head to sun.
把落雨改成下雨。
Bǎ luò yǔ gǎi chéng xià yǔ.
I changed falling rain to rain.
把吃了吗改成你吃饭了吗。
Bǎ chī le ma gǎi chéng nǐ chī fàn le ma.
I changed eaten yet to have you eaten.
我跟着广播学，一个字一个字地改。
Wǒ gēn zhe guǎngbō xué, yī gè zì yī gè zì de gǎi.
I learned from the radio, correcting myself word by word.
半年以后，没有人再笑我了。
Bàn nián yǐhòu, méiyǒu rén zài xiào wǒ le.
After half a year, no one laughed at me anymore.
可是夜里做梦，我说的还是村里的话。
Kěshì yè lǐ zuòmèng, wǒ shuō de háishi cūn lǐ dehuà.
But in my dreams at night, I still spoke the village speech.
我很得意，觉得自己变成了城里人。
Wǒ hěn déyì, juéde zìjǐ biànchéng le chéng lǐ rén.
I was proud, feeling I had become a city person.
只有暑假回村的时候，才说回方言。
Zhǐyǒu shǔjià huí cūn de shíhou, cái shuō huí fāngyán.
Only on summer holidays back in the village did I switch back to the dialect.
奶奶摸摸我的头，说，这就对了。
Nǎinai mō mō wǒ de tóu, shuō, zhè jiù duì le.
Grandma touched my head and said, that is right.
她说，在城里，就跟着城里人说。
Tā shuō, zài chéng lǐ, jiù gēn zhe chéng lǐ rén shuō.
She said, in the city, speak as city people do.
可是回村，别忘了自己的方言。
Kěshì huí cūn, bié wàng le zìjǐ de fāngyán.
But back in the village, do not forget your own dialect.
那时候我不明白她为什么这么说。
Nà shíhou wǒ bù míngbai tā wèi shénme zhème shuō.
Back then I did not understand why she said that.
我觉得方言不好听，普通话说出去才体面。
Wǒ juéde fāngyán bù hǎotīng, pǔtōnghuà shuō chūqù cái tǐmiàn.
I thought the dialect sounded crude; only Mandarin was respectable.
后来我上了大学，在城里成了家。
Hòulái wǒ shàng le dàxué, zài chéng lǐ chéng le jiā.
Later I went to university and settled down in the city.
我的孩子生在城市，长在城市。
Wǒ de háizi shēng zài chéngshì, cháng zài chéngshì.
My child was born in the city and raised in the city.
他从小只会说普通话。
Tā cóngxiǎo zhī huì shuō pǔtōnghuà.
Since small, he has only spoken Mandarin.
奶奶来过一次城里，住了一个星期。
Nǎinai lái guò yī cì chéng lǐ, zhù le yī gè xīngqī.
Grandma came to the city once and stayed a week.
她想跟我的孩子说话。
Tā xiǎng gēn wǒ de háizi shuōhuà.
She wanted to talk with my child.
孩子听不懂，躲在我身后。
Háizi tīng bù dǒng, duǒ zài wǒ shēn hòu.
The child could not understand and hid behind me.
奶奶说的日头，孩子不知道是太阳。
Nǎinai shuō de rì tóu, háizi bù zhīdào shì tàiyáng.
The child did not know that grandma's sun head meant the sun.
奶奶坐在我家的沙发上，越来越安静。
Nǎinai zuò zài wǒ jiā de shāfā shàng, yuè lái yuè ānjìng.
Grandma sat on our sofa, growing quieter and quieter.
一个星期不到，她就要回村。
Yī gè xīngqī bù dào, tā jiù yào huí cūn.
Before the week was over, she asked to go back.
她说，这里的话她听不懂，心里空。
Tā shuō, zhèlǐ dehuà tā tīng bù dǒng, xīnlǐ kōng.
She said she could not understand the talk here, and her heart felt empty.
我送她上车的时候，她拉着我的手。
Wǒ sòng tā shàng chē de shíhou, tā lā zhe wǒ de shǒu.
When I saw her onto the bus, she held my hand.
她说，别忘了教孩子说两句方言。
Tā shuō, bié wàng le jiāo háizi shuō liǎng jù fāngyán.
She said, do not forget to teach the child a few words of the dialect.
我说好，心里想，学这个有什么用呢。
Wǒ shuō hǎo, xīnlǐ xiǎng, xué zhège yǒu shénme yòng ne.
I said yes, thinking to myself, what use would that be?
前年冬天，奶奶走了。
Qiánnián dōngtiān, nǎinai zǒu le.
The winter before last, Grandma passed away.
送她上山那天，村里来了很多人。
Sòng tā shàng shān nà tiān, cūn lǐ lái le hěn duō rén.
The day we saw her up the hill, many villagers came.
老人都用方言说话。
Lǎorén dōu yòng fāngyán shuōhuà.
The old people all spoke in the dialect.
我站在他们中间，忽然发现。
Wǒ zhàn zài tāmen zhōngjiān, hūrán fāxiàn.
Standing among them, I suddenly realized.
他们说的词，我有一半听不懂了。
Tāmen shuō de cí, wǒ yǒu yíbàn tīng bù dǒng le.
Half of their words, I could no longer understand.
我像回到了城里那间教室。
Wǒ xiàng huí dào le chéng lǐ nà jiān jiàoshì.
It was as if I were back in that city classroom.
只是这一次，不会说话的是我。
Zhǐshì zhè yī cì, bù huì shuōhuà de shì wǒ.
Only this time, the one who could not speak was me.
奶奶走了，把日头也带走了。
Nǎinai zǒu le, bǎ rì tóu yě dài zǒu le.
Grandma left, and took the sun head with her.
村里会说方言的老人，越来越少。
Cūn lǐ huì shuō fāngyán de lǎorén, yuè lái yuè shǎo.
The old people who can speak the dialect grow ever fewer.
年轻人出去打工，回来都说普通话。
Niánqīng rén chūqù dǎgōng, huílái dōu shuō pǔtōnghuà.
The young go out to work and come back speaking Mandarin.
孩子们看手机，看的是全国一样的节目。
Háizi men kàn shǒujī, kàn de shì quán guó yíyàng de jiémù.
The children watch their phones, the same programs as the whole country.
方言像村前的那条小河。
Fāngyán xiàng cūn qián de nà tiáo xiǎo hé.
The dialect is like the small river in front of the village.
没有人去动它，它自己一年比一年浅。
Méiyǒu rén qù dòng tā, tā zìjǐ yī nián bǐ yī nián qiǎn.
No one touches it, yet it grows shallower year by year.
总有一天，它会干的。
Zǒng yǒu yī tiān, tā huì gàn de.
One day, it will run dry.
河干了，鱼就没有了。
Hé gàn le, yú jiù méiyǒu le.
When the river runs dry, the fish are gone.
词没有了，词后面的那些日子，也就没有了。
Cí méiyǒu le, cí hòumiàn de nàxiē rìzi, yě jiù méiyǒu le.
When the words are gone, the days behind those words are gone too.
去年我回村，带了一支录音笔。
Qùnián wǒ huí cūn, dài le yī zhī lùyīn bǐ.
Last year I went back to the village with a recorder.
我请村里最老的两位老人说话。
Wǒ qǐng cūn lǐ zuì lǎo de liǎng wèi lǎorén shuōhuà.
I asked the two oldest people in the village to talk.
他们说了一个下午，我录了一个下午。
Tāmen shuō le yī gè xiàwǔ, wǒ lù le yī gè xiàwǔ.
They talked all afternoon, and I recorded all afternoon.
里面有日头，有落雨，还有很多我不会的词。
Lǐmiàn yǒu rì tóu, yǒu luò yǔ, hái yǒu hěn duō wǒ bù huì de cí.
In it are sun head, falling rain, and many words I do not know.
走的时候，老人问我，录这个做什么。
Zǒu de shíhou, lǎorén wèn wǒ, lù zhège zuò shénme.
When I left, an old man asked what the recording was for.
我说，留着，留给我的孩子。
Wǒ shuō, liú zhe, liú gěi wǒ de háizi.
I said, to keep it, to keep it for my child.
也留给老了以后的我自己。
Yě liú gěi lǎo le yǐhòu de wǒ zìjǐ.
And to keep for myself when I am old.
回到城里，我把录音放给孩子听。
Huí dào chéng lǐ, wǒ bǎ lùyīn fàng gěi háizi tīng.
Back in the city, I played the recording to my child.
孩子听了一会儿，笑了。
Háizi tīng le yíhuìr, xiào le.
The child listened for a while and laughed.
他说，爸爸，这种声音好奇怪。
Tā shuō, bàba, zhè zhǒng shēngyīn hàoqí guài.
He said, Dad, this sound is so strange.
我说，这是奶奶的方言，也是你的根。
Wǒ shuō, zhè shì nǎinai de fāngyán, yě shì nǐ de gēn.
I said, this is your great grandmother's dialect, and also your root.
昨天傍晚，我带孩子去河边看太阳。
Zuótiān bàngwǎn, wǒ dài háizi qù hé biān kàn tàiyáng.
Yesterday evening, I took my child to the river to watch the sun.
太阳一点一点落到山后面去了。
Tàiyáng yī diǎn yī diǎn luò dào shān hòumiàn qù le.
The sun sank little by little behind the hill.
我指着它说，看，日头要睡了。
Wǒ zhǐ zhe tā shuō, kàn, rì tóu yào shuì le.
I pointed at it and said, look, the sun head is going to sleep.
孩子跟着我念，日头。
Háizi gēn zhe wǒ niàn, rì tóu.
The child repeated after me: sun head.
他的口音不对，可是我没有纠正他。
Tā de kǒuyīn bù duì, kěshì wǒ méiyǒu jiūzhèng tā.
His accent was off, but I did not correct him.
河面上的光一点一点暗下去。
Hé miàn shàng de guāng yī diǎn yī diǎn àn xiàqù.
The light on the river dimmed little by little.
我知道，有一个词，又活过来了。
Wǒ zhīdào, yǒu yī gè cí, yòu huó guòlái le.
I knew that one word had come back to life.