Two Usages of the Filler “Maa” Seen from the Examples of Natural Conversation and University Lectures—The Distinctions that Japanese Learners Should be Aware of—

Abstract

This paper considers the filler "Maa" using research data from university lectures and natural conversations. As a result of consideration, (1) the pronunciation of "Ma" is 1 mora, and the content that follows "Ma" is a premise or background information up to the point of the utterance (2) the pronunciation of "Maa" is 2 mora, and the content following "Maa" is the point of the utterance, and most of the arguments are the main arguments of the speaker (3) "Ma" often leads to subordinate clauses in compound sentences, but "Maa" often leads to the main clause of a single sentence or a compound sentence (4) "Ma" can't be used as an Aizuchi, but you can use "Maa" as an Aizuchi.