What does the alphabetic principle state about the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds?

What does the alphabetic principle state about the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds?

• A. Letters represent the sounds of spoken language in an organized, predictable relationship.
• B. Letters represent meanings through prefixes and roots.
• C. Letters are randomly mapped to sounds with no pattern.
• D. Letters can only represent vowel sounds.

Answer: (A)

The alphabetic principle is the idea that written letters represent the sounds of spoken language in a systematic, predictable way. This means we can sound out words by matching each sound to its letter or letters, and spell by connecting sounds to their written symbols. That clear, regular mapping is what lets readers decode unfamiliar words and writers spell accurately. Choosing the idea that letters only carry meaning through prefixes and roots mixes up spelling with word origins and morphology, not the sound-letter relationship. Saying letters map randomly with no pattern contradicts the essential idea of a consistent sound-to-letter mapping. And stating that letters can only represent vowel sounds ignores the important role consonants play in representing distinct sounds as well.

The alphabetic principle is the idea that written letters represent the sounds of spoken language in a systematic, predictable way. This means we can sound out words by matching each sound to its letter or letters, and spell by connecting sounds to their written symbols. That clear, regular mapping is what lets readers decode unfamiliar words and writers spell accurately.

Choosing the idea that letters only carry meaning through prefixes and roots mixes up spelling with word origins and morphology, not the sound-letter relationship. Saying letters map randomly with no pattern contradicts the essential idea of a consistent sound-to-letter mapping. And stating that letters can only represent vowel sounds ignores the important role consonants play in representing distinct sounds as well.