View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.1 | Chapter 3.2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the second characteristic that Mencken attributes to American English in Chapter 1.5?
(a) Disunity of regional dialects.
(b) Translatability to British English.
(c) Resistance to neologisms.
(d) Disregard of rule and precedent.

2. From what language does the English word "moose" come?
(a) Cherokee.
(b) Italian.
(c) Algonquin.
(d) English.

3. What vowel sound was dominant in 18th century New England pronunciation, despite common protests to the contrary?
(a) Broad a.
(b) Flat a.
(c) Flat e.
(d) Broad o.

4. 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) Publishing.
(b) Intercommunication.
(c) Travel.
(d) Localisms.

5. Who proposed a generally accepted nomenclature for currency in 1785?
(a) Noah Webster.
(b) Richard Grant White.
(c) Gouverneur Morris.
(d) Thomas Jefferson.

Short Answer Questions

1. What "great humorist" does Mencken cite in Chapter 1.3 as "celebrating 'the vigorous new vernacular of the occidental plains and mountains'"?

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

3. How many dialects dominate American English, according to Chapter 1.5?

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

5. What term did John Witherspoon coin, framing it within the context of vulgarity?

(see the answer key)

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