Phonics, << FON ihks, >> is the association of letters or combinations of letters with their appropriate speech sounds. Phonics also includes understanding the principles that govern the use of letters in words. In reading, phonics helps us understand the sound of a word that is unfamiliar. In spelling, phonics helps us write the appropriate letters for the sounds we hear.
Phonics can be taught synthetically or analytically. In the synthetic approach, a child learns the sounds of individual letters and letter combinations, usually before learning to read. With an unfamiliar word, the child synthesizes, or sounds out, the sounds that make up the word. In the analytic approach, a child develops a vocabulary of words he or she knows by sight. This is done while learning to read. The child eventually analyzes the words for their sounds. In this way, the child understands both the sound of the letters and the reasons some letters are used instead of others. The child then applies these reasons, or principles, and learns to recognize the sounds of new words.
In reading, phonics has both advantages and limitations. A knowledge of phonics makes it possible to reconstruct the sounds of many words not known by sight. This is particularly true for languages in which each letter or symbol represents only one sound and each sound is represented by only one letter. In the English language, the relation between sounds is not consistent. Thus, phonics has limitations if it is the only means used to learn unfamiliar words. Different letters may represent the same sound, as in meet and meat, or the same letter may stand for different sounds, as the a in fall and fate.
Educators consider phonics an essential part of any effective reading program. But because of the many inconsistencies in the English language, they recommend using additional aids to help a reader improve his or her pronunciation of unfamiliar words. For example, the reader may be taught to identify new words by their prefixes, suffixes, roots, and syllables.
