Which term describes segmenting words into phonemes?

Which term describes segmenting words into phonemes?

• A. Blending
• B. Decoding
• C. Segmenting
• D. Phonology

Answer: (C)

Segmenting is the ability to break a spoken word into its individual phonemes. For example, when you hear the word “cat,” you can identify the three separate sounds: /k/ /æ/ /t/. Recognizing and separating these sounds helps with spelling—each phoneme can be represented by a letter or letters—and also supports reading, since you can isolate sounds to map them to written symbols or to blend them back together to form words. The other terms describe related ideas but not this exact skill: blending is putting phonemes together to make a word; decoding is using letter-sound knowledge to read written words; phonology is the broader study of how sounds function in a language.

Segmenting is the ability to break a spoken word into its individual phonemes. For example, when you hear the word “cat,” you can identify the three separate sounds: /k/ /æ/ /t/. Recognizing and separating these sounds helps with spelling—each phoneme can be represented by a letter or letters—and also supports reading, since you can isolate sounds to map them to written symbols or to blend them back together to form words. The other terms describe related ideas but not this exact skill: blending is putting phonemes together to make a word; decoding is using letter-sound knowledge to read written words; phonology is the broader study of how sounds function in a language.