Which term is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language?

Which term is the smallest unit of sound in spoken language?

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

Answer: (B)

Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in spoken language that can change meaning. They’re the individual sounds that, when swapped, produce different words—for example, the initial sounds in “pat” and “bat” are distinct phonemes, and changing one alters the word’s meaning. Graphemes are the written letters that symbolize sounds, but they aren’t the spoken building blocks themselves. Read Aloud is just the act of speaking text aloud, and prosody covers the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech rather than the tiny sound units that distinguish words.

Phonemes are the smallest units of sound in spoken language that can change meaning. They’re the individual sounds that, when swapped, produce different words—for example, the initial sounds in “pat” and “bat” are distinct phonemes, and changing one alters the word’s meaning. Graphemes are the written letters that symbolize sounds, but they aren’t the spoken building blocks themselves. Read Aloud is just the act of speaking text aloud, and prosody covers the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech rather than the tiny sound units that distinguish words.