Abstract
'Ma' is important 'Kansei information' (the opposite concept of 'logical information') in communication. In all the cultures of Japan 'Ma' has been of great importance. Consequently there are a large number of descriptions that deal with 'Ma' qualitatively, but not quantitatively. The quantitative researches about 'Ma'in speech and music are reported in this paper. The psychological and physical data on 'Ma' were obtained by experiments and measurements. Following points at issue are discussed here: the suitable length of 'Ma', the relationship between the length of 'Ma' and breathing, the role of 'Ma' in expressing and/or understanding speaker's intention and emotion and the role of the switching pause('Ma') in building a relationship with the conversational partner.
