Which term is the study of relationships between phonemes and graphemes (letters) that represent the phonemes?

• A. Phonemic awareness
• B. Phonics
• C. Phonology
• D. Orthography

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is how spoken sounds map to written symbols. The term that studies and teaches the relationships between phonemes and the letters that represent them is phonics. Phonics focuses on decoding and spelling by connecting sounds to their letter patterns, which is why it’s the best fit here.

Phonemic awareness, by contrast, deals with recognizing and manipulating sounds in spoken language without print. Phonology covers the overall sound system and patterns of a language, not the letter- sound mappings. Orthography refers to the written spelling system itself, including rules about spelling, but the specific study of sound-to-letter relationships and how to teach them is phonics.