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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9.8 | Chapter 9.9.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what language does Mencken state the double negative was once "quite respectable?"
(a) Spanish.
(b) Anglo-Saxon.
(c) Russian.
(d) French.

2. Which of the following groups of immigrants does Mencken claim have a profound effect on not only the American vocabulary, but also its pronunciation and idiom?
(a) Scottish.
(b) Irish.
(c) Danish.
(d) Italian.

3. In what sort of languages are double negatives "perfectly allowable"?
(a) Romance.
(b) Teutonic.
(c) Semitic.
(d) Asiatic.

4. What does Sayce say that language is composed of in 1879?
(a) Meanings.
(b) Letters.
(c) Sounds.
(d) Words.

5. What word was "coatee" used as a diminutive for?
(a) Coat.
(b) Hat.
(c) Shawl.
(d) Beard.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the physical basis to which the nasal twang of Americans is ascribed?

2. In what language did the American derivative "coyote" originate?

3. What purpose does the double negative primarily serve?

4. Which word do Americans use for "angry" that was once an English provincialism considered base?

5. How does Mencken characterize the vulgar American habitual use of the double negative?

(see the answer key)

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