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

2. British pronunciation and vocabulary is generally viewed to have high ________________ in North America.

3. What is one of the organizations that has failed as a grammar regulatory force?

4. What is the dictionary that follows Webster's forty years later?

5. Why can translations between countries be considered difficult?

Short Essay Questions

1. In addition to English, what other languages have been proposed as international languages?

2. Explain the role of immigrants to North America on the evolution of the English language.

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

4. To what does the author attribute the misuse of English grammar?

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

6. What does the author state as one of the oldest English language dictionaries?

7. Name some less common word games.

8. Explain any efforts to regulate the English language.

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

10. What is the origin of the crossword puzzle?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The regional differences and flux of the English language provided opportunities as well as challenges for English writers like Chaucer and Shakespeare. Explain why writers such as these could invent new words and essentially create a new English language.

Essay Topic 2

Explain the influence of Native American, French and Spanish words on the English language as it moved to North America. Give ten examples of these influences from your own family, town, state, etc.

Essay Topic 3

Explain noted linguist Noam Chomsky's argument that children have inherent "ground rules" that help them learn their language. What other theories exist to explain how children learn to speak?

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