1. Individual letter sounds: Each letter in "written" has a specific sound:
* w: /w/ (as in "wet")
* r: /r/ (as in "red")
* i: /i/ (as in "bit")
* t: /t/ (as in "top")
* t: /t/ (as in "top")
* e: /ən/ (the schwa sound, as in "about")
* n: /n/ (as in "not")
2. Blends: The letters "wr" form a blend, where both sounds are pronounced together: /wr/.
3. Digraphs: The letters "tt" form a digraph, which means they represent a single sound. In this case, it's simply the sound of /t/.
4. Silent letters: The letter "e" at the end of "written" is silent. It doesn't make any sound.
Putting it all together:
When you sound out "written," you pronounce it as:
* /w/ + /r/ + /i/ + /t/ + /t/ + /ən/ + /n/
* This combines into: /ˈrɪtən/
Therefore, you need to be aware of individual letter sounds, blends, digraphs, and silent letters when sounding out words like "written".