Which term denotes the written representation of sounds using letters?

Which term denotes the written representation of sounds using letters?

• A. Read Aloud
• B. Prosody
• C. Grapheme
• D. Phoneme

Answer: (C)

The concept here is how writing captures spoken sounds. The best term is grapheme, which refers to the written symbol or cluster of symbols that stands for a sound (or group of sounds) in a language. In English, a single letter like a or k can be a grapheme, and heap of letters like ph or ch can also function as graphemes that represent particular sounds. This is about writing, not the sound itself. A phoneme, by contrast, is the smallest unit of sound in speech—the actual mental sound, not its written form. Prosody deals with rhythm, intonation, and stress patterns in speech, not letters. Read Aloud is simply an activity, not a term for the symbol-to-sound relationship.

The concept here is how writing captures spoken sounds. The best term is grapheme, which refers to the written symbol or cluster of symbols that stands for a sound (or group of sounds) in a language. In English, a single letter like a or k can be a grapheme, and heap of letters like ph or ch can also function as graphemes that represent particular sounds. This is about writing, not the sound itself.

A phoneme, by contrast, is the smallest unit of sound in speech—the actual mental sound, not its written form. Prosody deals with rhythm, intonation, and stress patterns in speech, not letters. Read Aloud is simply an activity, not a term for the symbol-to-sound relationship.