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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.5 | Chapter 4.1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Mencken at the beginning of Chapter 1.3, what do the novelists and newspapermen on either side of the Atlantic ocean delight in?
(a) Localisms.
(b) Publishing.
(c) Travel.
(d) Intercommunication.

2. What word in American is used for the English word "shoe?"
(a) Sandal.
(b) Boot.
(c) Footing.
(d) Slipper.

3. Which of the following did the African slaves NOT introduce to American English?
(a) Banjo.
(b) Goober.
(c) Voodoo.
(d) Gumbo.

4. What word did Webster argue should have its vowel sound changed to "ee" instead of "eh"?
(a) Deaf.
(b) Beef.
(c) Beer.
(d) Heft.

5. Which is the first factor that Mencken identifies as an immediate impediment to the growth of the American language in Chapter 3.1?
(a) Territorial expansiveness.
(b) Regional diversity.
(c) Political disharmony.
(d) Lack of a national literature.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which term do English dictionaries all describe as an Americanism from the comparative list in Chapter 4.1, despite the English version being frequently used in America?

2. To what phrase did Benjamin Franklin, Noah Webster, and Robert Southey object as a base Americanism, as discussed in Chapter 2.3?

3. According to the tale spread by William Gifford, what language was supposed to be substituted for English during the Revolutionary War?

4. What sound did Webster object to inserting in words such as "gradual" and "nature," before the "u"?

5. Who is the author of "Travels in North America," published in 1827?

(see the answer key)

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