Townspeople means the people who live in a particular town, thought of together as one body. Not 'some people in the town' — all of them, as a group with a shared life: the same market, the same school, the same worry when the factory closes.

Townspeople means the people who live in a particular townTownspeople指的是住在某個特定城鎮裡的人， thought of together as one body把他們合在一起當成一個整體來看。 Not 'some people in the town'不是「鎮上的一些人」 — all of them, as a group with a shared life——是全部的人，一個共享生活的群體： the same market, the same school, the same worry when the factory closes同一個市場、同一間學校，工廠倒閉時同樣的擔憂。

It is always plural. There is no 'a townspeople' and no 'townspeoples'. You say 'the townspeople were angry', with a plural verb, the same way you say 'the people were angry'.

It is always plural它永遠是複數。 There is no 'a townspeople'沒有'a townspeople'這種說法 and no 'townspeoples'也沒有'townspeoples'。 You say 'the townspeople were angry'你會說'the townspeople were angry'， with a plural verb動詞要用複數形式， the same way you say 'the people were angry'就跟你說'the people were angry'一樣。

Where you meet it matters. This is the word of stories, local history, and news reports — 'The townspeople gathered in the square', 'The townspeople had never seen a stranger like him'. It has a slightly old, storybook feel, and it usually appears when the town is acting as one: gathering, protesting, celebrating, deciding. In everyday speech people just say 'the locals', or 'people in the town', or simply 'everyone here'.

Where you meet it你在哪裡碰到這個字 matters很重要。 This is the word of stories, local history, and news reports這是故事、地方史，和新聞報導裡會用的字 — 'The townspeople gathered in the square', 'The townspeople had never seen a stranger like him'——像'The townspeople gathered in the square'(鎮民聚集在廣場上)、'The townspeople had never seen a stranger like him'(鎮民從沒見過像他這樣的陌生人)。 It has a slightly old, storybook feel它有點老派、帶著故事書的味道， and it usually appears when the town is acting as one通常出現在整個鎮一起行動的時候 — gathering, protesting, celebrating, deciding——聚集、抗議、慶祝、做決定。 In everyday speech people just say 'the locals'日常說話大家就直接說'the locals'(當地人)， or 'people in the town'或是'people in the town'， or simply 'everyone here'或乾脆說'everyone here'(這裡的每個人)。

There is an older word, townsfolk, that means exactly the same and sounds even more like a fairy tale.

There is an older word, townsfolk還有一個更古老的字townsfolk， that means exactly the same意思一模一樣， and sounds even more like a fairy tale但聽起來更像童話故事。

And note the s sitting in the middle — towns-people, not town-people. That s is a leftover possessive: the town's people. English has a small family of these: tradespeople, salesperson, craftsman, spokesperson.

And note the s sitting in the middle注意中間那個s — towns-people, not town-people——是towns-people，不是town-people。 That s is a leftover possessive那個s是留下來的所有格： the town's people也就是the town's people(這個鎮的人)。 English has a small family of these英文裡有一小群這樣的字： tradespeople, salesperson, craftsman, spokesperson像tradespeople(商人)、salesperson(業務員)、craftsman(工匠)、spokesperson(發言人)。