Phonetic Coding & Sound Discrimination Flashcards

Which word contains a diphthong?

Answer: boy

The word 'boy' contains the diphthong /ɔɪ/, a gliding vowel sound that moves from one position to another within a single syllable.

In the MLAT phonetic coding section, a student hears a word and must underline the syllable that matches a stressed sound. What aspect of phonology is being assessed?

Answer: Suprasegmental perception

Identifying stressed syllables involves perceiving suprasegmental features — patterns of stress, rhythm, and pitch that extend over more than one sound segment.

The sounds /p/ and /b/ in English differ primarily in which phonetic feature?

Answer: Voicing

Both /p/ and /b/ are bilabial stops, but /b/ is voiced (vocal cords vibrate) while /p/ is voiceless.

A sound that is produced with airflow through the nose, such as /m/, /n/, or /ŋ/, is called:

Answer: A nasal

Nasal consonants are produced with the velum lowered, allowing air to pass through the nasal cavity instead of solely through the mouth.

On the MLAT, examinees listen to a key word spoken in a made-up language and must identify it when they hear it again among distractors. This primarily measures:

Answer: Short-term phonetic memory

This task requires holding an unfamiliar sound pattern in short-term memory and matching it accurately — the essence of phonetic coding ability.

Which of the following sound sequences would be most difficult to discriminate for a native English speaker hearing them for the first time?

Answer: light / right

The /l/ vs. /r/ distinction is particularly challenging for speakers of languages that do not contrast these sounds, making 'light/right' harder than familiar English contrasts.

When a spoken syllable receives greater loudness, length, and pitch prominence compared to surrounding syllables, it is said to carry:

Answer: Lexical stress

Lexical stress is the emphasis placed on a particular syllable in a word, marked by increased loudness, duration, and often higher pitch.