Letters Versus Sounds... What's the Difference?

True or False: “Letters” and “sounds” mean the same thing and are interchangeable.
 

 
Answer: False

Letters are written symbols of spoken sounds. There are 26 letters in the alphabet but 44 phonemes (sounds) in the English language. Each sound can be represented by one or more letters. The “k” sound is heard in the words “kite”, “cap”, “Christmas”, “question” and “box”. The “sss” sound is heard in the words “sun”, “nice”, “psalm” and “scene” but not in the word “sure”. Digraphs are 2 letters that represent a single sound (like “sh”, “ch”, “th” and “wh”).

In speech therapy, the focus would not be on the letter “ess”, but rather the production of the “sss” sound. This has important implications for blending since the first sound in “fish” is “fff” not “eff”.  

If you have concerns about your child’s speech and language development, call for a free consultation.