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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 country attempts to control language by its academic system instead of following social forces?

2. What do the British borrow from American English?

3. Which speakers are becoming a minority of single-language users around the world?

4. English cannot be confined to arbitrary rules or ____________________.

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. One of the most interesting words created in North America was "O.K." What is the background behind this new word?

3. What is the basis for the argument of making English an international language?

4. Why are English speakers becoming a minority of single-language users globally?

5. What has been the naming process for places in England and America?

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

7. What is the source of many swear words throughout history?

8. What impact has American English had on the British vocabulary?

9. What is the author's position on many spelling and grammar rules?

10. How is the pronunciation of place names indicative of how English speakers have changed over time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the major issues that Bryson emphasizes throughout the book is that no higher authority controls the English language. Imagine that you could invent such an authoritative organization and outline its mission statement as well as its strategic and tactical plans.

Essay Topic 2

What was the impact of American immigrants to the English language? Take into account surnames, place names, and words assimilated into the American lexicography.

Essay Topic 3

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

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