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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. According to Mencken, which title is subject to the greatest divergence in usage?
(a) Professor.
(b) The Honorable.
(c) General.
(d) Doctor.

3. 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) Lack of a national literature.
(d) Political disharmony.

4. 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) Disregard of rule and precedent.
(d) Resistance to neologisms.

5. Which of the following groups of immigrants does Mencken claim have a profound effect on not only the American vocabulary, but also its pronunciation and idiom?
(a) Italian.
(b) Irish.
(c) Danish.
(d) Scottish.

6. 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.

7. What is the English word for a collection of colleges?
(a) A Collegiate.
(b) A Cardinal.
(c) A University.
(d) A Maltin.

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

9. Which of the following groups of foreign immigrants does Mencken not attribute influence over American English in Chapter 6.4?
(a) South-Pacific Asian Islanders.
(b) Italians.
(c) Slavic peoples.
(d) Russian Jews.

10. What notable author was the first Englishman to carry Americanisms successfully back to his home?
(a) Cleveland Coxe.
(b) Charles Dickens.
(c) Joseph Conrad.
(d) G.K. Chesterton.

11. What is the English meaning of the Hawaiian word "lanai"?
(a) Garage.
(b) Balcony.
(c) Porch.
(d) Bathroom.

12. To what country does the English correspondent in Chapter 4.5 ascribe many American expletives?
(a) Germany.
(b) Ireland.
(c) Sweden.
(d) France.

13. According to Mencken, how do the English pronounce "been?"
(a) Bain.
(b) Bin.
(c) Bein.
(d) Bean.

14. Which of the following was not used as a substitute for the once indecent term, for highly refined ears, "bull"?
(a) Cow-creature.
(b) Male-cow.
(c) Standing-cow.
(d) Gentleman-cow.

15. What does the English "secondary school" correspond to in American?
(a) Middle school.
(b) High school.
(c) College.
(d) Elementary school.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What American writer does Mencken claim likely inspired envy in British writers?

3. 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?

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

5. Which Founding Father coined the term "to belittle"?

(see the answer keys)

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