Pronunciation of を

[karategirl09]

I hear を being pronounced both as 'o' and 'wo', and sometimes as something in between. Is this correct? And how do you know when to pronounce it as which?

[Javizy]

As far as I'm aware, it's optional, although 'wo' sounds a bit more classical (maybe worth a wiki). I've got to say though, I've only heard one person other than Peter use 'wo'. Particles tend to become a part of the word that precedes them, and the way Peter almost shouts WO completely separately ruins the flow of the sentence, so I'd stick with 'o' if I were you. Your best bet is to mimic native speakers as much as you can, like with all aspects of pronunciation.

[Taurus]

I've actually noticed my wife tends towards 'wo' when she's being polite, and 'o' when she's being more informal. Maybe that's just her. Similarly, when she's being super-polite she tends to pronounce the final '-u' sound in polite words (eg. desu, shimasu), whereas when she's being more formal she tends to drop it - which seems to be the more regular pronunciation to me.

On a tangential note, I think she's also mentioned that the pronunciation of that last '-u' sound is regional; her parents are from Osaka, but she grew up in Tokyo, and one of those regions (I forget which) tends to pronounce it and the other region tends to drop it. Apropos of nothing, like.

[reboundstudent]

Oh thanks Tauraus, I've always been curious about the sudden "u" added onto masu forms. When I took Japanese in university, she drilled ますっ into our heads, and then suddenly when I arrive here, it's "gozaimas-u!" Really confused me.

Far as I can tell, pronouncing を as "wo" seems to be used as a learning tool for brand new beginners, but as the skills advance more and more it transforms into an "o" sound. Or, it could be as simple as you hear it pronounced as "wo" 1) so people don't confuse it with お, and 2) so you can actually type を on the keyboard!

[wccrawford]

My listening skills have been getting better recently, and I heard it as 'wo' a lot in an anime I was watching. I think it was Bounen no Xamdou. I think it was the female captain of the mail ship that says it like that. It was really messing with my head trying to figure out if I was hearing it wrong.

[gerald_ford]

I've actually noticed my wife tends towards 'wo' when she's being polite, and 'o' when she's being more informal. Maybe that's just her. Similarly, when she's being super-polite she tends to pronounce the final '-u' sound in polite words (eg. desu, shimasu), whereas when she's being more formal she tends to drop it - which seems to be the more regular pronunciation to me.

I can confirm my wife is the same way.