ABSTRACT
Word recognition in beginning literacy poses a particular set of problems. The most important of these is how written words represent spoken words. Writing systems were invented to communicate the spoken language, and most writing systems do this systematically, by using an alphabet, a syllabary, or a set of logographs (characters, like $ or %) that convey meaning. Because English is an alphabetic language, children who are learning to read English must learn the systematic correspondences between alphabetic letters (or groups of letters) and sounds. This means that learning written language requires some understanding of spoken language. This is not surprising when one considers that writing systems are designed to convey speech.
