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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the author feel there is a lack of among English native speakers?

2. How many words does the dictionary mentioned in #117 contain?

3. In addition to people names, what else has had a similar naming process in both England and America?

4. What has prompted the English-only movement in the U.S.?

5. Why can translations between countries be considered difficult?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the background of Webster's Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary?

2. Why are translations between English and Japanese especially difficult?

3. Explain the almost futile attempts to produce current English language dictionaries.

4. Explain any efforts to regulate the English language.

5. Describe the evolution of swear words.

6. What is the origin of the crossword puzzle?

7. What happens to the use of swear words as society becomes more cognizant of propriety?

8. What is the correlation between tracing swear words and tracing the history of language overall?

9. What is the challenge of determining the actual number of words in the English language?

10. What were some of the transitions of the English language as it migrated to North America?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the archaeological evidence that points to the evolution of human speech?

Essay Topic 2

Explain at least three of the ways that new words are created in the English language. Be sure to take into account historic creations as well as modern methods.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the differences between pictographic languages and phonetic languages and give examples of each.

(see the answer keys)

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