Which term describes the phonetic representation of speech sounds using single letters or combinations of letters?

The term that describes the phonetic representation of speech sounds using single letters or combinations of letters is "grapheme." Graphemes are the smallest units of written language that correspond to sounds in spoken language. This includes individual letters, like "a" or "b," as well as combinations of letters that represent a single sound, such as "sh" or "ch."

Understanding graphemes is essential for literacy development, as they form the basis of decoding written language, which is critical in teaching reading and spelling. Graphemes play a key role in connecting spoken sounds (phonemes) to their written symbols, facilitating the understanding of how letters and sounds interact in language.

In this context, whereas phonemes refer specifically to the distinct units of sound in speech, and morphemes denote the smallest grammatical units in a language, graphemes focus solely on the representation of sounds in written form. Hence, the choice identifying grapheme aligns perfectly with how speech sounds are represented visually in written language.