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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How do some linguists think that children learn their languages?
(a) Natural tendencies
(b) By osmosis
(c) By imitating their parents
(d) By their heritage

2. In what American city do people speak with slurred words that make them almost impossible to understand?
(a) Ann Arbor, Maryland
(b) Phoenix, Arizona
(c) Baltimore, Maryland
(d) Cincinnati, Ohio

3. Which words are appropriate for the common people to use?
(a) Anglo-Saxon
(b) Irish
(c) French
(d) Danish

4. Languages around the world contain common ______________________.
(a) consonants
(b) vowels
(c) foundations
(d) verb tenses

5. The author tends to think that English is special because of ___________________________.
(a) its lyrical sound
(b) its flexibility of use
(c) its inherent ease of learning
(d) its verb use

Short Answer Questions

1. Physical communication strategies include proximity between speakers, hand gestures and ______________________.

2. What does the author use to show the development of human speech?

3. There is debate about the simplicity of English spelling and _________________________.

4. What historical occurrence is explored in Chapter 6?

5. What language and culture does the answer to #44 bring to England?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the merits of using the English language?

2. What is the result of attempting to draw demarcations of accents throughout the U.S.?

3. How did the English language evolve in the British Isles or what is now known as the United Kingdom?

4. How does the author account for the changing pronunciation of English over time?

5. What is another method of explaining where words come from?

6. Finally, what is the fourth method of explaining where words come from?

7. What measures can people take when exact pronunciations are critical?

8. How can spelling in English be perceived as both simple and difficult?

9. What event prompted the usage of standardized spelling in England?

10. Explain the impact of the invasion of the Normans in England.

(see the answer keys)

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