^°Nrf°fiQf^^' LANGUAGE OF SANTA ANA PUEBLO — DAVIS 



No. 69] 



65 



Word patterns based on the number of syllables and the arrange- 

 ment of suprasegmental features are extremely varied. The more 

 commonly occm-ring patterns found among dissyllabic and trisyllabic 

 words are indicated below: 



RHYTHM GROUPS 



A rhythm group is a segment of speech which is marked off by 

 pauses and/or which is characterized by the presence of one syllable of 

 extra intensive stress. This unit may consist of an isolated mono- 

 syllabic word, such as ;^u- / don't know, but ordinarily embraces a 

 sequence of many syllables. In normal speech (i.e., in which there are 

 no hesitation pauses) the boundaries of a rhythm group fall at word 

 boundaries, although every word boundary is not a rhythm group 

 boundary. The number of words included in a rhythm group depends 

 on the grammatical content of the particular utterance and on the 

 style of speech. A free flowing conversational style is characterized 

 by rhythm groups that include relatively long segments of speech. 

 Such extensive groups are consequently few in number in relation to 

 those in a comparable utterance delivered in a more vigorous or in a 

 more hesitating style of speech. In rapid speech the pauses tend to 

 be few in number and the onset of a new rhythm group may be signaled 

 only by a rise in intensity and pitch on an accented syllable. This 

 syllable is most often the initial syllable of the rhythm group. 



Rhythm groups are normally characterized by a gradual falling off 

 of the general pitch level and intensity following the syllable which 

 receives the greatest stress. The extent of this falling off depends on 

 the length of the rhythm group. Toward the end of a very long 



