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I've heard it both as "soo-kee-ya-kee" and "skee-ya-kee". Which is correct?

Some more background:

A native speaker once told me that the correct pronunciation is "skee-ya-kee",
and I subsequently learned that sometimes people shorten vowels. (Another
example would be "a-sak-sa" for "Asakusa".) Yet at Japanese restaurants I've
ordered "skee-ya-kee" only to have the servers (native speakers) repronounce
it as "soo-kee-ya-kee". Is it purely a preference? Basically I'd like to use
the correct pronunciation when ordering sukiyaki.
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pronunciation vowels
Correct pronunciation of "sukiyaki"?
In the [English](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sukiyaki)
dictionary and in [Japanese](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HJKkS_1PIs). The
discrepancy might be because Japanese tends [not pronounce
vowels](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1095/what-are-the-rules-
regarding-mute-vowels-u-after-s-and-i-after-sh) within words. In Japanese, it
is referred to as ["the muting of
vowels".](http://www.coelang.tufs.ac.jp/mt/ja/pmod/practical/03-03-01.php)

Examples:

sukiyaki -> skee-ya-kee

yakusoku -> yak-sow-koo
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If you do not intend to speak like a native speaker and you just want to make
yourself understood, say like "soo-kee-yah-kee".

I don't know how often native speakers drop vowels between characters in hasty
daily speech (since I'm also a native speaker myself who did not use IPA for
learning Japanese), but when they speak slowly and clearly, it's certainly
"soo-kee-yah-kee" without dropping any vowels. The 4 sounds each correspond to
the four hiragana letters of this word (す-き-や-き). The server perhaps said this
word slowly for you.

And note that you can never get the "correct" pronunciation if you are
thinking in English alphabet like this. English and Japanese are two different
languages and have different sound systems (read
[this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/9333/5010) for an example). In
this sense, neither is "correct"; soo-kee-yah-kee is just a safer
approximation of the Japanese word すき焼き.
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As you've noticed, the "u" sound in Japanese is often reduced when it comes
between voiceless consonants. Since "s" and "k" are both voiceless, Japanese
people say "skiyaki" and "asaksa".

I think this confusion is also a result of the fact that the "u" sound in
Japanese is different from that in English. Since we're not familiar with this
sound, we hear something between "skiyaki" and "sookiyaki" even when Japanese
people say "sukiyaki" clearly.

**The difference between the "oo" sound that we hear and the "u" sound that
Japanese people produce is like the difference between the vowel sounds in
"[boot](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/boot)" and
"[foot](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/foot)".** In "boot," our lips are
rounded and protruding. In "foot" our lips are neither rounded nor protruding
(at least not much). That's like the Japanese "u" sound.(Interestingly, if you
say "foot" quickly, you'll notice it also becomes "ft".)

Looking at IPA charts, I see there are some differences between the vowel
sound in foot and the Japanese "u" sound, but I'm pretty sure that if you
pronounce the "u" sound in "sukiyaki" like the one in "foot," it will be
indistinguishable to a native speaker.

I've just started my foray into phonology, so excuse me if I get my terms
wrong!
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The closest possible notation of すきやき and あさくさ within English sounds I think
would be "sss-kee-yah-kee" and "ah-sah-khh-sah" (with right accentuation, of
course).

Japanese phonology is build upon a basic principle of "[isochrony of
morae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isochrony#Mora_timing)", that is each
unit must be pronounced in the same duration. As you've observed, the vowel is
devoiced in this condition, or becomes effectively inaudible, but it doesn't
reduce the length of the syllable. If you naively pronounce "skee", they're
likely to hear the vowel relatively longer, that's why _ski_ is rendered スキー
"sss-kee-ee". The servers might have repronounced it (in English
pronunciation, perhaps?) to make sure that you ordered the right menu.

Another possibility is that they come from Western Japan area where the vowel
U is more rounded and doesn't get devoiced, remaining similar to English "oo".
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