Nasalisation in Japanese

[Yatagarasu 352]

I just wanted to get some views among the Japanese speakers here concerning nasalisation of the 'g' sound in Japanese.  In the language mp3s that came with various textbooks (both older ones and newer ones) there tends to be nasalisation of 'ga' and 'go'.  My former teacher (a lady in her late 40s) also spoke this way.  Yet, I have recently heard that this is considered an affectation or kind of old-fashioned.  I can't recall if I heard it much on my trips to Japan last year, save among women in traditional boutiques (like old-school wagashi shops and tea rooms), older women and newsreaders.  Is this considered 'posh' or well-spoken in the vaguely equivalent sense of Received Pronunciation in English?  Is it considered to be a more feminine linguistic trait?  Do you hear this a lot in Japan?  Would it sound unnatural coming from a foreigner or younger person?  

I guess the same can be said of 'su', e.g genki 'deSU', rather than genki 'dess'.  The instances I recall hearing the 'su' being accented were by, well, classier ladies or ladies over a certain age.  Again, is this an affectation to sound 'posh' or specifically to sound more feminine?  

Many thanks all!

[Akinomaki 34,816]

Nasalization of ga is nothing I really care about or notice:  it is unnatural if the g is somehow pronounced, it's best if you nearly don't hear it at all, so you won't hear nasalization either. I don't think there is anything feminine about it if emphasized a bit - unlike a desu like French dessous: that suits a middle aged okami-san at a traditional Japanese lodging house or restaurant outside of the Tokyo area - especially around Kyoto.

But I notice that only on TV, I don't remember talking to people that talk in that emphasized way - I remember rather a variety of general pronunciation in various local dialects, some considerably reducing the percentage of what I can understand.

[Kuroyama 715]

It's still done in at least some cases. I hadn't known about it, so when visiting Ryogoku last year I was surprised that the station announcements on the trains nasalized the "g" in that place name, so it sounded more like "Ryongoku". Interestingly, they did not do this in the English-language announcements mentioning the same station. Both were read by a female voice.

I remember noticing it again when watching a recent tournament day. I can't remember what they were saying, but I think it was also ご preceded by おう  or おお, and it was a male commentator.

[Yumenofude 11]

My electronic dictionary's pronunciation guide gives multiple instances of the nasalized "g" - I don't quite have a good view on the system of it, though.

They also "extend" the writing system from what we're normally taught - representing the nasalized "g" with the same small circle as for turning the h-series into "p" sounds. (Sound FX: me looking into the guts of my keyboard in search of the correct glyph...)

Yatta!!! か゚ is the one.

Hope this helps!