lack of rhymes

[lcumberl at indiana.edu]

I have the same feeling as others that Siouan morphology would inhibit
end-rhyming - so many ya's and ye's! This discussion reminds me of cultures that
practice head-rhyming, in which it is the first full syllable of specified lines
that rhyme (e.g., Mongolian), but even that possibility would be limited in
Siouan, again due to morphology.

What I have noticed in so may Assiniboine and Lakhota songs is the art of
vocables, where lines are filled out rhythmically. And, of course, some entire
songs or entire verses of songs are just vocables.  A Lakhota singer once told
me that he believes that learning songs is the best place to start when trying
to learn the language because the music reinforces the patterns of the words,
even though there is no "rhyme" in the sense that we think of it. So maybe a
good pedagogical tool is to teach songs, or to set things to music where
possible. Some of you may recall our excursion into various language versions of
"Head, Shoulder, Knees, and Toes" but if I were to make a practice of this, I
think I'd go with more culturally appropriate melodies, perhaps accompanied by
hand drum.

Linda