View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 8.3 | Chapter 8.4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the author of "Travels in North America," published in 1827?
(a) Louis Untermeyer.
(b) Henry Alford.
(c) Charles Astor Bristed.
(d) Basil Hall.

2. Which of the early presidents does Mencken identify as archetypal of the new American?
(a) George Washington.
(b) James Monroe.
(c) Thomas Jefferson.
(d) Andrew Jackson.

3. According to Mencken, the English opposition to American spelling transcends the academic and takes on the character of what?
(a) The patriotic.
(b) The ethical.
(c) The religious.
(d) The political.

4. According to the tale spread by William Gifford, what language was supposed to be substituted for English during the Revolutionary War?
(a) Spanish.
(b) Hebrew.
(c) French.
(d) Latin.

5. What English word does the author of "Men and Manners" lament about the American re-signification?
(a) Buttock.
(b) Missionary.
(c) Clever.
(d) College.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following groups of foreign immigrants does Mencken not attribute influence over American English in Chapter 6.4?

2. Which 1914 English dictionary made many important concessions to American spellings?

3. Who "tries" a legal case in England?

4. Which is the first factor that Mencken identifies as an immediate impediment to the growth of the American language in Chapter 3.1?

5. From which of the following have the English changed their spelling?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 227 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample