Which term refers to understanding that letters represent sounds in spoken language?

Which term refers to understanding that letters represent sounds in spoken language?

• A. Alphabetic principle
• B. Digraph
• C. Grapheme
• D. Print awareness

Answer: (A)

The concept that letters stand for sounds in spoken language is the alphabetic principle. This idea means there’s a systematic link between the letters we write and the sounds we hear when speaking, so readers can decode unfamiliar words by blending their letter sounds. For example, when you see the word cat, you map the letters c, a, t to the sounds /k/, /æ/, /t/ and blend them to say the word. This mapping between graphemes (the letters or letter combinations) and phonemes (the sounds) is what makes reading and spelling possible. Understanding this link is what sets fluent reading in motion, beyond just recognizing individual letters. Digraphs are two letters that make one sound (like “sh” or “ch”), which is a related concept but not the broader idea of mapping each letter to a sound across the writing system. Graphemes are the symbols themselves, which can be single letters or letter pairs, not the principle of the sound-to-symbol mapping. Print awareness focuses on recognizing print and how it is used, rather than the specific correspondence between letters and sounds.

The concept that letters stand for sounds in spoken language is the alphabetic principle. This idea means there’s a systematic link between the letters we write and the sounds we hear when speaking, so readers can decode unfamiliar words by blending their letter sounds. For example, when you see the word cat, you map the letters c, a, t to the sounds /k/, /æ/, /t/ and blend them to say the word. This mapping between graphemes (the letters or letter combinations) and phonemes (the sounds) is what makes reading and spelling possible.

Understanding this link is what sets fluent reading in motion, beyond just recognizing individual letters. Digraphs are two letters that make one sound (like “sh” or “ch”), which is a related concept but not the broader idea of mapping each letter to a sound across the writing system. Graphemes are the symbols themselves, which can be single letters or letter pairs, not the principle of the sound-to-symbol mapping. Print awareness focuses on recognizing print and how it is used, rather than the specific correspondence between letters and sounds.