Which concept refers to the understanding that spoken sounds are represented in print by written letters?

The concept referred to in the question is the understanding that spoken sounds are represented in print by written letters, which is known as the alphabetic principle. This principle is foundational in literacy development and involves recognizing that letters and combinations of letters correspond to specific sounds in spoken language. This understanding enables learners to decode words by translating written symbols into their spoken equivalents, which is critical for reading and writing skill development.

The alphabetic principle serves as a bridge between phonetics—the sounds of language—and orthography, which is the conventional spelling system of a language. This principle illustrates how to read and spell by connecting phonemes (the smallest units of sound) with graphemes (the letters or letter combinations that represent those sounds).

While other concepts, such as phonetic understanding and orthographic principle, relate to sounds and spelling respectively, they do not encapsulate the specific relationship defined in the question as accurately as the alphabetic principle. Semantic comprehension pertains to the meaning of words and sentences and is separate from the relationship between sounds and their written representation.