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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 8.3 | Chapter 8.4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What term did John Witherspoon coin, framing it within the context of vulgarity?
(a) Americanism.
(b) Anglophile.
(c) Scientist.
(d) Briticism.

2. Which European language has exerted the most influence on the American language?
(a) Spanish.
(b) German.
(c) French.
(d) Italian.

3. What is the English meaning of the Hawaiian word "lanai"?
(a) Balcony.
(b) Bathroom.
(c) Garage.
(d) Porch.

4. How is the "portmanteau-word" formed?
(a) By mixing parts of words with the same meaning in different languages.
(b) By finding the true root in the word.
(c) By onomatopoeic creativity.
(d) By blending two words.

5. What word best describes the English attitude towards the adoption of foreign loan-words, in contrast to the American attitude?
(a) Accepting.
(b) Tolerating.
(c) Liberal.
(d) Conservative.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which is the second factor that Mencken identifies as an impediment to the growth of the American language in Chapter 3.1?

2. Which of the following is a term used by philologists to indicate the "instinctive search, etymologically unsound, for short roots in long words"?

3. Which 1914 English dictionary made many important concessions to American spellings?

4. What is the American substitute for the English word "tin"?

5. According to Mencken, which title is subject to the greatest divergence in usage?

(see the answer key)

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