What broad skill includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language such as words and syllables?

The broad skill that encompasses identifying and manipulating units of oral language, such as words and syllables, is phonological awareness. Phonological awareness refers to the understanding and ability to work with sounds in spoken language. It includes skills like recognizing and producing rhymes, counting syllables, and recognizing the onset and rime of words. This skill is crucial for developing reading proficiency, as it lays the foundation for understanding how language works in terms of sounds.

Phonemic awareness, which is often confused with phonological awareness, is actually a more specific subset within it. Phonemic awareness focuses solely on the smallest units of sound, known as phonemes. While important, it does not encompass the broader range of language units like words and syllables that phonological awareness addresses.

Syntax awareness pertains to the structure of sentences and the rules that govern the arrangement of words, which does not directly relate to the identification and manipulation of sounds. Semantic awareness relates to the meanings of words and how they combine to convey ideas, thus it also falls outside the scope of manipulating units of oral language.