Paiwan Every Day 3: zaing // zemaing

Today's saying shows Paiwan people read their mother nature.  

nu zemaing a ceqer, qemudjalj; 

nu zemaing a kuwa, macengelaw. 

In English:
If the frog croaks, it rains; if the vulture calls, it shines. 

Glossary: 

1. nu: if or when 
2. z<em>aing: make sound or croak for frogs. -em- 'agent marker of a verb'; the root is zaing 'sound'. 
3. ceqer: frog
4. kuwa: vulture
5. ma-cengelaw: shines. ma- 'to make or enable'; the root is cengelaw 'sunshine'. 

Reading:

Or click here klokah for a dramatic boy reading.

A different speaker might use a different animal and a different sentence structure. My Paiwan teacher kuliu djumalj, for example, says the following: 

"nu zamaing a ceqer, uri qemudjalj; nu zemaing a tjakanga, uri macengelaw". 

In his usage, kuwa (a vulture) becomes tjakanga (a black kite); also, the present tense verb q<em>udjalj (rain) comes after uri and becomes a future tense that means "will rain" or "will shine".