MLAT Phonetic Script and Association 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a phonetic script exercise, '¶' = /d/ and '∞' = /u/. What does '¶∞¶' sound like?
- dud (Correct answer)
- nun
- bub
- gug
Correct answer: dud
¶=/d/ and ∞=/u/, so ¶∞¶ = /d/+/u/+/d/ = 'dud.'
Question 2: Which English word pair forms a minimal pair based on place of articulation?
- tip / dip
- fin / thin
- ship / chip
- met / net (Correct answer)
Correct answer: met / net
'met' (bilabial /m/) and 'net' (alveolar /n/) differ only in where the nasal consonant is articulated.
Question 3: In an MLAT phonetic passage, you are shown that '∑' = /s/ and '∏' = /p/. The word '∑∏∑' would be pronounced:
- sps (Correct answer)
- psp
- sss
- ppp
Correct answer: sps
Decoding ∑∏∑ with ∑=/s/ and ∏=/p/ yields the consonant cluster 'sps.'
Question 4: The MLAT phonetic script section is timed. What does performance under time pressure specifically assess?
- Automaticity of symbol-sound retrieval (Correct answer)
- Long-term memorization capacity
- Vocabulary breadth
- Syntactic processing speed
Correct answer: Automaticity of symbol-sound retrieval
Timed performance measures how automatically a learner can retrieve the symbol-sound mapping, which reflects real-world decoding fluency.
Question 5: If a phonetic script uses a raised dot '·' to indicate a nasal vowel, what does 'a·' represent compared to 'a'?
- A nasalized /a/ versus an oral /a/ (Correct answer)
- A long /a/ versus a short /a/
- A stressed /a/ versus an unstressed /a/
- A high /a/ versus a low /a/
Correct answer: A nasalized /a/ versus an oral /a/
The raised dot marker signals nasalization, so 'a·' is a nasalized vowel while 'a' is the plain oral vowel.
Question 6: A learner sees the symbol '≈' for the first time paired with the sound /ʒ/ (as in 'measure'). In a test, '≈uri' appears. The correct pronunciation is:
- zhuri (Correct answer)
- zuri
- shuri
- churi
Correct answer: zhuri
Since '≈' = /ʒ/, '≈uri' is pronounced 'zhuri,' using the voiced palato-alveolar fricative.
Question 7: Which factor most distinguishes high scorers from low scorers on the MLAT phonetic script section?
- Speed and accuracy of novel symbol-sound pairing (Correct answer)
- Prior knowledge of phonetic terminology
- Native language reading level
- Familiarity with the International Phonetic Alphabet
Correct answer: Speed and accuracy of novel symbol-sound pairing
The MLAT is designed so that prior linguistic knowledge does not confer an advantage; high scores reflect innate aptitude for rapid symbol-sound association.
MLAT Phonetic Script and Association 5
In a phonetic script exercise, '¶' = /d/ and '∞' = /u/.
What does '¶∞¶' sound like?