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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.5 | Chapter 4.1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which term do English dictionaries all describe as an Americanism from the comparative list in Chapter 4.1, despite the English version being frequently used in America?
(a) Rooster.
(b) Railroad.
(c) Freight.
(d) Hog-pen.

2. Which London newspaper lamented the "menace" that American movies offer to the purity of the English language?
(a) The <i>Daily Herald</i>.
(b) The <i>Daily News</i>.
(c) The <i>Times</i>.
(d) The <i>Illustrated London News</i>.

3. What "great humorist" does Mencken cite in Chapter 1.3 as "celebrating 'the vigorous new vernacular of the occidental plains and mountains'"?
(a) Samuel Elridge.
(b) John Fiske.
(c) Mark Twain.
(d) William Dean Howells.

4. What English word does the author of "Men and Manners" lament about the American re-signification?
(a) College.
(b) Missionary.
(c) Buttock.
(d) Clever.

5. Which defender of Americanisms cited by Mencken in Chapter 1.3 states that "Language is made by the people"?
(a) Richard Aldington.
(b) Edgar Jepson.
(c) George Ade.
(d) William Archer.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what continent does Mencken attribute the acknowledgment of the differences between American and British English?

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

3. Who proposed a generally accepted nomenclature for currency in 1785?

4. Who is the author of "Travels in North America," published in 1827?

5. According to the report of Beverley, what did a group of soldiers turn into after eating some Jimson Weed?

(see the answer key)

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