What is the number of graphemes in the word "swing"?

To determine the number of graphemes in the word "swing," it's essential to understand what a grapheme is. A grapheme is the smallest unit of written language that represents a sound (phoneme) in a word.

In "swing," we can break it down into its individual graphemes:

1. The 's' represents the initial sound.

2. The 'w' represents the following sound, which is a combination with 's.'

3. The 'i' represents the vowel sound in the middle.

4. The 'ng' represents the final sound of the word, combining two letters to produce one phoneme.

When we count these distinct graphemes, we find that there are four: 's,' 'w,' 'i,' and 'ng.' Each grapheme corresponds to a sound in the word.

Therefore, the correct number of graphemes in the word "swing" is indeed four. This understanding helps highlight how graphemes function in written language and their relationship to phonetics.