What does phoneme segmentation involve?

Phoneme segmentation is the skill of identifying and isolating individual sounds (phonemes) within a word. This involves breaking a word down into its constituent sounds to understand how the word is constructed phonetically. Counting the separate sounds in a word is a direct representation of this skill, as it enables learners to hear and manipulate the smallest units of sound that make up language.

For example, the word "cat" contains three phonemes: /k/, /æ/, and /t/. The ability to segment these phonemes allows for a better understanding of word formation and can aid in reading and writing skills.

Other options, while related to phonemic awareness, do not specifically define what phoneme segmentation is. For instance, replacing a phoneme to create a new word refers to phoneme substitution, while identifying words that belong together pertains to word recognition or grouping. Forming new words from spoken phonemes leans towards phoneme manipulation, rather than segmentation. Hence, the focus on counting and identifying the separate sounds directly aligns with the definition of phoneme segmentation itself.