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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9.2 | Chapter 9.3.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. According to Chapter 2.6, what regional pronunciation is erroneously thought by some to have superior authority regarding English pronunciation?
(a) New York.
(b) South-eastern.
(c) Boston.
(d) Chicago.

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

4. What is the principal reason Mencken states that the English language has not greatly diverged since the foundation of the United States of America?
(a) American neo-classical tastes.
(b) Transatlantic communication.
(c) Transatlantic travel.
(d) Solidarity of higher education.

5. What "Anglomaniac affectation" did Noah Webster sneer at in 1789?
(a) The broad "a."
(b) The recalcitrance to neologisms.
(c) Clinging to the silent "u" as in "honour."
(d) The literature of Fowler.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is one of the three great causes of change in language according to Sayce, as reported in Chapter 9.3?

2. Whose clarity of prevision does Mencken praise in the opening of Chapter 1.1?

3. What is the universal substitute for the word "ye" as described in Chapter 6.2?

4. To what continent does Mencken attribute the acknowledgment of the differences between American and British English?

5. According to Mencken, democratic government is essentially government by whom?

(see the answer key)

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