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

2. In terms of politics, an American candidate "runs" for office. What does an English candidate do?
(a) Stands.
(b) Sits.
(c) Sprints.
(d) Jumps.

3. What letter, when preceding a consonant, greatly irritated Henry James like a "morose grinding of the back teeth?"
(a) R.
(b) G.
(c) E.
(d) T.

4. 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) Italian.
(d) Danish.

5. What difference in pronunciation does Mencken state most sharply distinguishes the two dialects?
(a) The normative "o."
(b) The normative "-ary" suffix.
(c) The normative "a."
(d) The normative "ch."

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. Which double negative word is primarily found in Shakespeare?

5. In what sort of languages are double negatives "perfectly allowable"?

(see the answer key)

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