What do we call the relationship between sounds and their written letters?

The relationship between sounds and their written letters is referred to as letter-sound correspondence. This concept is fundamental in understanding phonics, which is the method of teaching reading by developing learners' phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in spoken words.

Letter-sound correspondence involves mapping the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language to the letters (graphemes) that represent them in writing. For example, the sound /m/ corresponds to the letter 'm', and the sound /b/ corresponds to the letter 'b'. This relationship is crucial for readers as it provides them with the tools they need to decode words while reading and to encode words when writing.

By understanding letter-sound correspondence, students can apply this knowledge to sound out words, improving their reading fluency and comprehension. Mastery of this concept is essential for early literacy development and is a key area of instruction in phonics-based reading programs.