What principle refers to the understanding of the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds?

The alphabetic principle is the key concept that describes the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds. This principle asserts that each sound in spoken language can be represented by specific letters or combinations of letters in written language. Understanding this relationship is crucial for reading and writing because it enables learners to decode written words by sounding them out based on the letters they see. Mastery of the alphabetic principle is foundational for literacy development, as it helps students recognize that words are formed by sequences of letters that correspond to individual sounds.

Emergent literacy refers to the stage where children begin to understand that letters and sounds are connected, but it encompasses a broader spectrum of early reading and writing behaviors. Cueing systems involve using contextual clues and pictures to help with understanding texts, which is valuable but does not specifically focus on the letter-sound correspondence. Phoneme substitution involves changing one phoneme in a word to create a new word, which is a skill that builds on the understanding of sounds but does not encapsulate the broader principle of how letters relate to sounds. Thus, the alphabetic principle is the most precise term for the relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.