What specific ability refers to focusing on and manipulating individual sounds in spoken words?

The ability to focus on and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words is referred to as phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness and specifically deals with the smallest units of sound, known as phonemes. This skill involves recognizing, blending, segmenting, and manipulating these sounds, which is crucial for developing reading and spelling skills.

In contrast, phonological awareness encompasses a broader range of skills, including the ability to recognize larger units of sound, such as syllables and onset-rime segments, as well as phonemes. Oral language skills encompass the overall abilities to understand and use language in spoken forms, while articulation skills pertain to the physical ability to produce sounds and words correctly. Thus, phonemic awareness is the precise term for the specific ability described in the question.