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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Chapter 13 addresses what traditions in the English-speaking world?
(a) Wedding
(b) Family
(c) Naming
(d) Holiday

2. What shows up in versions of early dictionaries?
(a) Errors
(b) Judgments
(c) The author's personality
(d) Conflicts

3. How many words did Noah Webster's dictionary contain to surpass the one mentioned in #113?
(a) 5,500
(b) 37,000
(c) 70,000
(d) 520,000

4. What are the risks of being unaware of international translations of company names and messages?
(a) Being negative or offensive
(b) Targeting the wrong prospects
(c) Being perceived as too expensive
(d) Being misunderstood

5. Why is it nearly impossible for a dictionary to keep pace with the English language?
(a) Regional words are always changing
(b) It grows at such a fast pace
(c) It is not printed often enough
(d) Slang words drop out of use

6. The English language is left to ___________ and public figures.
(a) anthropologists
(b) entertainment
(c) academic
(d) scientific

7. In addition to people names, what else has had a similar naming process in both England and America?
(a) Street names
(b) Insect names
(c) Animal names
(d) Place names

8. What element guides generational language?
(a) Superiority
(b) Colloquialisms
(c) Regionalism
(d) Pop culture

9. What else is difficult to determine about the English language?
(a) How many words the average person knows
(b) What is determined to be proper
(c) How each word is altered by region
(d) How slang develops

10. What can be misused even by experts on the topic?
(a) English grammar
(b) Synonyms
(c) Spelling
(d) Punctuation

11. American names adapt and change to suit _______________________ pronunciation and spelling patterns.
(a) American
(b) British
(c) Spanish
(d) Celtic

12. Why does the author feel it is difficult to trace the history of swearing?
(a) People are reluctant to talk about their swear words
(b) Swear words are primarily spoken, not written down
(c) People don't want their children exposed to it
(d) Countries do not want to be known for swearing

13. Why does the author think it is difficult to trace the history of language using only written records?
(a) Documents can be lost or altered
(b) Historians are prone to making errors
(c) Much is not accounted for if spoken language is not accounted for
(d) Meanings can be lost in translation

14. What is one of the organizations that has failed as a grammar regulatory force?
(a) Academie Francaise
(b) Harvard University
(c) United Nations
(d) Oxford University

15. Translations between English and ______________ are particularly difficult.
(a) Japanese
(b) German
(c) Italian
(d) Chinese

Short Answer Questions

1. From whom did North American settlers borrow words?

2. What does the author consider to be unreliable in monitoring English word usage?

3. What did North American immigrants do with their native languages?

4. What has been added to the British vocabulary in spite of academic protests?

5. Chapter 15 addresses the history of what?

(see the answer keys)

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