Saturday, April 4, 2020

Paiwan Every Day 28: pulingaw

In Paiwan, 1 to 10 is: ita, drusa, tjelu, sepatj, lima, unem, pitju, alu, siva, puluq. When we refer to people, however, like 1 person, 2 persons, et cetera, there are different words:
  • macidilj - 1 person, alone, single              
  • madrusa - 2 persons
  • matjelu - 3 persons
  • masepatj - 4 persons
  • malje lima - 5 persons
  • malje unem - 6 persons
  • malje pitju - 7 persons
  • malje alu - 8 persons
  • malje siva - 9 persons
  • malje puluq - 10 persons
  • malje taidai - 100 persons
  • malje kudraw - 10,000 persons
These words are solely used for human, not for animal or plant or object. For these, numbers like ita, drusa... are used. 

izua malje unem a pulingaw i tjuvecekadan. 

In English: 
In tjuvecekan village, there are six priests. 

Glossary: 
1. izua: there is
2. malje unem: six (used for human)
3. a: case marker for the subject
4. pulingaw: priest, wise person
5. tjuvecekadan: a Paiwan village, referred as Chi-jia in Chinese

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Paiwan Every Day 668: pai

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