1. What is the physical basis to which the nasal twang of Americans is ascribed?
(a) The moist climate.
(b) Genetic diversity.
(c) The dry climate.
(d) Colder air.

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

3. What purpose does the double negative primarily serve?
(a) Reinforcement.
(b) Syntactical compactness.
(c) Rhetorical circuitry.
(d) Confusion.

4. Which double negative word is primarily found in Shakespeare?
(a) Not.
(b) No.
(c) Never.
(d) Nor.

5. How does Mencken characterize the vulgar American habitual use of the double negative?
(a) With "unconscious loathing."
(b) With "sturdy fidelity."
(c) With "periodic intensity."
(d) With "happy fecundity."

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. According to Mencken, how do the English pronounce "been?"

3. According to Mencken, the name of what game puzzles etymologists?

4. What word was "coatee" used as a diminutive for?

5. What letter, when preceding a consonant, greatly irritated Henry James like a "morose grinding of the back teeth?"

(see the answer key)

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