Here's a breakdown of pauses and their corresponding punctuation marks:
* Comma (,): Shortest pause, used to separate items in a list, clauses, and phrases.
* Semicolon (;): A longer pause than a comma, used to join closely related independent clauses.
* Colon (:): Longer than a semicolon, used to introduce a list, explanation, or quotation.
* Period (.): Longest pause, used to mark the end of a sentence.
Therefore, the period signifies the longest pause among English punctuation marks.