Splitting words into spoken syllables
Lexikit now splits words as they are said: to·mate in two syllables, ba·llon. Before, it followed spelling and counted a sound the child does not say.
Lexikit changes the way it splits words into syllables. The automatic split now follows speech, the way the word is said. Before, it followed spelling.
Two ways of splitting
“Tomate” (tomato) is written in three syllables, to·ma·te, but said in two: to·mate. The final “e” is not pronounced. In the same way, “ballon” (ball) is said ba·llon, because the double “l” is heard only once and goes with the next syllable. The written split is used for poetry and spelling. The spoken split matches what the child hears.
What phonological awareness needs
In preschool, before reading, the child learns to hear that words break into parts. The child claps, counts and compares. A child can only clap what they hear. Asking them to count three syllables in “tomate” means asking them to hear a sound they do not pronounce.
What Lexikit does
The final silent “e” is never counted as a syllable, and the old option that counted it is gone. Double consonants said once go with the next syllable. The split of each word shows in its window, and you can always change it by hand.
