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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2.3 | Chapter 2.4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many dialects dominate American English, according to Chapter 1.5?
(a) Ten.
(b) Four.
(c) Two.
(d) None.

2. From what language does the English word "moose" come?
(a) Algonquin.
(b) Italian.
(c) Cherokee.
(d) English.

3. What event does Mencken credit with strengthening the obfuscation of distinction between American and British English?
(a) The First World War.
(b) The French Revolution.
(c) The advent of the transatlantic telephone line.
(d) The bombing of London.

4. What is the second characteristic that Mencken attributes to American English in Chapter 1.5?
(a) Translatability to British English.
(b) Disunity of regional dialects.
(c) Disregard of rule and precedent.
(d) Resistance to neologisms.

5. According to the tale spread by William Gifford, what language was supposed to be substituted for English during the Revolutionary War?
(a) Spanish.
(b) French.
(c) Hebrew.
(d) Latin.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which Founding Father is said to have sought to establish a new American alphabet?

2. Who is the author of "Dissertations on the English Language"?

3. What word in American is used for the English word "shoe?"

4. What is the principal reason Mencken states that the English language has not greatly diverged since the foundation of the United States of America?

5. What language does Mencken quote Sidney Low as saying is not taught to English youth?

(see the answer key)

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