MLAT Phonetic Script Association Questions and Answers

Question 1

An MLAT test-taker is taught the following phonetic associations: 'b' represents the /b/ sound as in 'bat'; 'i' represents the /ɪ/ sound as in 'bit'; 't' represents the /t/ sound as in 'top'; 'ee' represents the /iː/ sound as in 'feet'.
Which of the following phonetic spellings corresponds to the pronunciation of the English word 'beat'?

Accepted Answer

beet

Answer

bit

Answer

be

Answer

teeb

Question 2

In a phonetic script exercise, you learn these rules: 'f' = /f/ (fun); 'a' = /æ/ (cat); 'th' = /θ/ (thin); 'o' = /ɒ/ (hot). Given the phonetically spelled word 'foth', what is its most likely pronunciation?

Accepted Answer

foth (rhymes with 'moth')

Answer

fath

Answer

fote

Answer

fohth

Question 3

The primary cognitive skill assessed in the Phonetic Script Association section of the MLAT is the ability to:

Accepted Answer

learn and apply new correlations between speech sounds and written symbols.

Answer

understand complex grammatical structures.

Answer

memorize a large vocabulary in a short time.

Answer

deduce the meaning of words from their context in a sentence.

Question 4

A test-taker learns the following phonetic pairs: 'pæt' = pat, 'kæt' = cat, 'bæt' = bat. Based on this pattern, which symbol most likely represents the initial sound in the word 'hat'?

Accepted Answer

h

Answer

æt

Answer

t

Answer

p

Question 5

In a scenario, you are given the symbols 'g' for the /g/ sound (go), 'r' for the /r/ sound (run), and 'u' for the /ʌ/ sound (cup). You are then shown two new symbols: 'v' for the /v/ sound (vine) and 'ee' for the /iː/ sound (see). Which of the following phonetically-spelled words would sound like 'grieve'?

Accepted Answer

greev

Answer

gruv

Answer

grevu

Answer

gurv

Question 6

You are presented with the following phonetic symbols and their sounds: 'sh' = /ʃ/ (shoe); 'e' = /ɛ/ (bed); 'l' = /l/ (leg); 'f' = /f/ (fan). Which of the following nonsense words contains ONLY sounds from this list?

Accepted Answer

fesh

Answer

shep

Answer

lef

Answer

elfe