What is a digraph?

What is a digraph?

• A. A combination of two letters making one sound
• B. A single letter representing a sound
• C. Two sounds in one letter
• D. A word with two syllables

Answer: (A)

A digraph is when two letters work together to make one sound. The two letters join to form a single phoneme, rather than each contributing its own sound. For example, ph sounds like /f/ as in phone, sh sounds like /ʃ/ as in ship, and th can be /θ/ in think or /ð/ in this. Other pairs like ea can represent a single vowel sound in some words, and ng represents the /ŋ/ sound in ring. This is different from a single letter representing a sound (that would be a monograph) or a pair of letters that each keep their own sounds (a blend). It’s also separate from anything about syllables in a word.

A digraph is when two letters work together to make one sound. The two letters join to form a single phoneme, rather than each contributing its own sound. For example, ph sounds like /f/ as in phone, sh sounds like /ʃ/ as in ship, and th can be /θ/ in think or /ð/ in this. Other pairs like ea can represent a single vowel sound in some words, and ng represents the /ŋ/ sound in ring. This is different from a single letter representing a sound (that would be a monograph) or a pair of letters that each keep their own sounds (a blend). It’s also separate from anything about syllables in a word.