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Straightforward question. `天爾遠波` (or `弖爾乎波`) - written as `てにをは` \- is a term
used to refer to the Japanese particles (`助詞`) or sometimes Japanese grammar
as a whole (`文法`). So how to do pronounce the `は` at the end? Is it `ワ` or
`ハ`? Presumably it's the former since it's describing particles, but I've
never seen it definitively explained anywhere.
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2013-07-18T16:34:24.383
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2013-08-16T12:09:53.500
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question
words pronunciation
Pronunciation of 天爾遠波 (てにをは)
The は is being used as the pronunciation of 波, and not as a particle. Thus it
is pronounced like a ハ. The particle は is _always_ in the hiragana form, so as
it is a kanji it must be pronounced ハ.

Just because it is _describing_ particles does not mean it _is_ a particle.

Remember, if は is the pronunciation of a kanji, it is always pronounced ハ.
Only when it is a particle (when it must be in hiragana form) can it
pronounced ワ.
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2013-07-19T16:04:52.817
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2013-07-19T16:04:52.817
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answer
According to [the entry about は in
デジタル大辞泉](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/172789/m0u/):

>
> 「は」は、平安時代半ば以後、語中・語尾では、一般に［wa］と発音されるようになった。これらは、歴史的仮名遣いでは「は」と書くが、現代仮名遣いでは、助詞「は」以外はすべて「わ」と書く。

Which is probably the source of confusion. If one thinks of it as a "word"
then they might be inclined to read it as `te-ni-o-wa`.

However, according to [the entry about てにをは in
デジタル大辞泉](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/152154/m0u/):

> 《ヲコト点の一種の博士家(はかせけ)点の四隅の点を、左下から右回りに続けて読むと「てにをは」となるところから》

So, as you can see, it's more like an acronym of sorts than it is an actual
"word" (as in it identifies the markup actually used in `漢文`). Therefore, it
is read as `te-ni-o-ha`.

* * *

Additionally, `イロハ` (i.e., `伊呂波短歌`) is read as `i-ro-ha` and not `i-ro-wa` (I
have no sources to back up this claim, though, other than my own experience).
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2013-08-16T10:22:08.610
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2013-08-16T12:09:53.500
2013-08-16T12:09:53.500
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answer