What term describes two letters that make one sound?

What term describes two letters that make one sound?

• A. digraph
• B. diphthong
• C. vowel pair
• D. consonant blend

Answer: (A)

Two letters that work together to make one sound are called a digraph. In English, digraphs pair letters to represent a single phoneme, not two separate sounds. For example, sh sounds like /ʃ/ as in ship, ph sounds like /f/ as in phone, and ch sounds like /tʃ/ as in chair. The important idea is that the two letters are acting as one sound unit, rather than each contributing its own distinct sound. A diphthong, by contrast, refers to a single vowel sound that glides from one vowel quality to another within the same syllable (often shown with vowel pairs like oi or ou). A consonant blend describes two consonants appearing together but each retaining its own sound, as in bl or st.

Two letters that work together to make one sound are called a digraph. In English, digraphs pair letters to represent a single phoneme, not two separate sounds. For example, sh sounds like /ʃ/ as in ship, ph sounds like /f/ as in phone, and ch sounds like /tʃ/ as in chair. The important idea is that the two letters are acting as one sound unit, rather than each contributing its own distinct sound.

A diphthong, by contrast, refers to a single vowel sound that glides from one vowel quality to another within the same syllable (often shown with vowel pairs like oi or ou). A consonant blend describes two consonants appearing together but each retaining its own sound, as in bl or st.