Day 89: Sound-Symbol Correspondence Both Ways (Why Your Brain Reads 'Ghoti' as 'Fish')

Here's a fun party trick that never gets old: write "ghoti" on a whiteboard and ask people what it says.

Most adults stare at it, confused. A few brave souls might try "GO-tee" or "GOAT-eye."

Then you reveal the answer: it's "fish."

GH as in "rough" → /f/ O as in "women" → /i/ TI as in "nation" → /sh/

Ghoti = fish.

This little word game reveals something profound about English spelling and why teaching sound-symbol correspondence is both crucial and complicated. Let me show you what it means for real kids learning to read real words.

The Two-Way Street

When we talk about sound-symbol correspondence, we're really talking about a two-way street:

Encoding: Hearing a sound and knowing how to spell it (fish → f-i-s-h) Decoding: Seeing letters and knowing what sounds they make (f-i-s-h → "fish")

Most phonics instruction focuses heavily on decoding - teaching kids to look at letters and say sounds. But here's what we often miss: kids also need to go the other direction. They need to hear sounds and know how to represent them with letters.

Why Decoding Alone Isn't Enough

Last year, I had a student named Jamal who could decode beautifully. Show him any word, and he could sound it out accurately. "Cat." "Jump." "Elephant." No problem.

But when it came time to spell those same words? Total disaster. He'd write "kat" for "cat" and "jup" for "jump." He could read the code, but he couldn't write it.

That's when I realized: Jamal understood how to go from letters to sounds, but he didn't understand how to go from sounds to letters. He was missing half the correspondence.

The English Complexity Challenge

Here's what makes English so tricky: the correspondence between sounds and symbols isn't one-to-one.

One sound, multiple spellings: The /f/ sound can be spelled: f (fish), ph (phone), gh (rough)

One spelling, multiple sounds: The letter 'c' can say /k/ (cat) or /s/ (city)

Silent letters everywhere: Lamb, knife, island, honest - letters that show up but don't make sounds

This isn't a bug in the English system - it's a feature. English spelling preserves meaning relationships (heal/health) and historical connections. But it makes teaching sound-symbol correspondence more complex.

The Teaching Strategy That Works

Despite the complexity, there's a systematic way to teach sound-symbol correspondence that honors how English actually works:

Start with the most reliable patterns Begin with letters and sounds that have consistent relationships: /m/ = m, /s/ = s, /t/ = t

Teach the most common spelling first When a sound has multiple spellings, teach the most frequent one first: /f/ = f before /f/ = ph

Be explicit about alternatives Don't pretend English is perfectly regular, but don't overwhelm kids with every exception at once

Practice in both directions Give kids lots of practice both decoding (letters to sounds) and encoding (sounds to letters)

The Assessment That Reveals Everything

Want to know if your students really understand sound-symbol correspondence? Try this simple assessment:

Decoding check: Show them written words and have them read aloud Encoding check: Say words aloud and have them spell them

Kids who can do both have solid sound-symbol correspondence. Kids who can only do one direction need more work on the other side.

The Mia Breakthrough

Mia was one of those kids who memorized spelling words beautifully for the FriDay test, then couldn't spell those same words in her writing on MonDay.

That's when I realized: she was memorizing letter sequences, not understanding sound-symbol relationships.

We went back to basics. For every spelling pattern we studied, we practiced both directions:

●      I'd show her "ight" and she'd say /īt/

●      I'd say /īt/ and she'd write "ight"

We connected sounds to symbols and symbols to sounds until the relationships became automatic.

Within three months, Mia was spelling unfamiliar words phonetically and using her sound-symbol knowledge to tackle challenging vocabulary.

The Dialect Consideration

Here's something that complicates sound-symbol correspondence: not everyone pronounces words the same way.

In my classroom, some kids pronounce "pin" and "pen" exactly the same. Others distinguish clearly between them. Some say "cot" and "caught" identically, while others hear a clear difference.

This isn't right or wrong - it's linguistic diversity. But it means I need to be flexible about sound-symbol correspondence, acknowledging that the "sound" part of the equation varies by speaker.

The Morphology Connection

As kids get older, sound-symbol correspondence gets more sophisticated. They start to understand that spelling often preserves meaning relationships even when pronunciation changes:

●      Sign/signal (the 'g' is silent in "sign" but pronounced in "signal")

●      Heal/health (the vowel changes but the root stays visible)

●      Electric/electricity (stress shifts but the root is preserved)

This is advanced sound-symbol work, but it helps kids understand why English spelling makes sense at a deeper level.

The Writing Connection

Strong sound-symbol correspondence transforms kids' writing. When they can reliably encode sounds into letters, they:

●      Attempt unfamiliar words instead of avoiding them

●      Write longer, more complex sentences

●      Focus on ideas instead of struggling with spelling

●      Develop phonetic approximations that show their thinking

Common Teaching Mistakes

Mistake 1: Only teaching decoding Kids need practice going both directions - from sounds to symbols and from symbols to sounds

Mistake 2: Expecting perfection immediately English spelling is complex. Kids need time to internalize patterns and alternatives

Mistake 3: Ignoring dialect differences Acknowledge that kids may pronounce words differently without making them feel wrong

Mistake 4: Teaching exceptions before rules Make sure kids understand the basic patterns before introducing the complications

The Technology Reality

In our digital age, some people question whether spelling matters. "Kids can just use spell-check!"

But here's the thing: spell-check only works if you can get close to the right spelling. And understanding sound-symbol correspondence is crucial for:

●      Reading unfamiliar words

●      Learning vocabulary from text

●      Understanding word relationships

●      Developing phonological awareness

The Confidence Factor

Kids with strong sound-symbol correspondence become confident risk-takers in both reading and writing. They're willing to attempt unfamiliar words because they have strategies for figuring them out.

Kids without these skills become dependent on others, stick to simple words they're sure they know, and miss opportunities to expand their literacy skills.

What This Means for Your Teaching

Don't just teach decoding - teach encoding too. Don't just show kids how to read words - show them how to spell them. Make the connections between sounds and symbols explicit in both directions.

Remember: sound-symbol correspondence is the foundation for everything else in literacy. Take the time to build it strong, and your students will have tools they can use for a lifetime of reading and writing.

Even when they encounter "ghoti," they'll understand why English works the way it does.