New Hampshire Foundations of Reading Practice Test

Coarticulation primarily affects which aspect of language?

1. Vocabulary development

2. Phonemic awareness

3. Spelling accuracy

4. Reading fluency

The correct answer is: Phonemic awareness

Coarticulation primarily affects phonemic awareness because it involves the way sounds influence one another during speech. When two sounds are produced in close proximity, the articulators (such as the tongue, lips, and jaw) move in a way that affects how each sound is pronounced. This natural blending of sounds can make it more challenging for learners, particularly young children, to distinguish individual phonemes, which is a critical component of phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words. Since coarticulation demonstrates how the articulation of one sound can change based on adjacent sounds, understanding this phenomenon can help educators support students in developing their skills to identify and work with phonemes effectively. Vocabulary development, spelling accuracy, and reading fluency are influenced by various factors, but coarticulation is particularly relevant when considering how students perceive and process individual sounds in their speech and through phonological processing.