View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What term did John Witherspoon coin, framing it within the context of vulgarity?
(a) Anglophile.
(b) Scientist.
(c) Briticism.
(d) Americanism.

2. What American writer does Mencken claim likely inspired envy in British writers?
(a) Fowler.
(b) Irving.
(c) Poe.
(d) Griswold.

3. What ethnicity of people, through the influence of the mercantile class, is referred to by a different name in the United States than in England?
(a) White/Caucasian.
(b) Jew/Hebrew.
(c) Latino/Hispanic.
(d) Black/African American.

4. How many dialects dominate American English, according to Chapter 1.5?
(a) None.
(b) Ten.
(c) Four.
(d) Two.

5. In what parts of language does Mencken say the "chief grammatical peculiarities" of spoken English are found?
(a) Nouns and participles.
(b) Adverbs and adjectives.
(c) Verbs and pronouns.
(d) Nouns and prepositions.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is not one of the minor differences Mencken lists in Chapter 8.7?

2. How is the "portmanteau-word" formed?

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

4. According to Mencken, the name of what game puzzles etymologists?

5. In terms of politics, an American candidate "runs" for office. What does an English candidate do?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 210 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample