grapheme: A grapheme is the smallest unit in a written language system representing a phoneme.example: The letter k represents the sound or phoneme /k/ while the letter c is the grapheme that can represent the sound /k/ in the word cat or the sound /s/ in the word city. The letters sh represent one phoneme /sh/.
The Code In English
Graphemes are the visual representation of phonemes. Our 26 letter alphabet is ill equipped to represent our 44 phonemes with one to one correspondence. The letters can be combined in many ways to represent these sounds. The organization of the letters forms these graphemes which make up the alphabetic code. Here is where our written language system gets complex. Now it is established that our English language has 44 phonemes and 26 letters that can be combined to make anywhere between 160 to 180 graphemes! Why is this?
One sound can be represented by any combination of one, two or more letters. One to one corresponcence like the ā or /a/ in cat, one letter one sound. There can also be two sounds that represent one sound like the sh represents the /sh/ sound in the word ship, one sound two letters. Even worse many letters can represent one sound like letter a represents the ā or short a sound /a/ in the word eight.
Some graphemes can also be represented by different spellings. . Just look at the ā phoneme or short a sound /a/ can be represented by these different graphemes: aim, tray, cake, or eight.
If that were not enough, one grapheme can represent multiple sounds. Examine the -ough grapheme in the words though, thought, and through.
Memorizing 160-180 English graphemes may seem like a daunting task but experts believe that by learning 70 of the most frequently appearing graphemes, will cover around 85% of our written language.
