Which term is the study of speech structure in language that includes both the patterns of basic speech units and the tacit rules of pronunciation?

• A. Phonology
• B. Phonological awareness
• C. Phoneme
• D. Orthography

Answer: (A)

Phonology is the study of speech sounds and their organization in a language, including how the basic sound units are arranged and the tacit rules that govern pronunciation. It looks at the inventory of distinct sounds (phonemes), how those sounds combine to form syllables and words, and the patterns and constraints that guide how sounds can appear together in speech. This captures both the building blocks of sound and the unconscious rules that shape pronunciation.

Phoneme is the smallest unit of sound, so it’s a unit rather than the study of the system. Phonological awareness refers to recognizing, distinguishing, and manipulating sounds in spoken language, which supports reading but isn’t the overarching study of sound structure. Orthography deals with writing systems and spelling, not pronunciation rules.