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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 of the following did the African slaves NOT introduce to American English?
(a) Banjo.
(b) Voodoo.
(c) Gumbo.
(d) Goober.

2. Which is the first factor that Mencken identifies as an immediate impediment to the growth of the American language in Chapter 3.1?
(a) Lack of a national literature.
(b) Regional diversity.
(c) Political disharmony.
(d) Territorial expansiveness.

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

4. Who is the author of "Travels in North America," published in 1827?
(a) Charles Astor Bristed.
(b) Basil Hall.
(c) Louis Untermeyer.
(d) Henry Alford.

5. Where was the broad "a" principally established prior to the Civil War?
(a) California.
(b) The Southeast.
(c) The Midwest.
(d) New England.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which European language has exerted the most influence on the American language?

2. What term did John Witherspoon coin, framing it within the context of vulgarity?

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

4. What word did Webster argue should have its vowel sound changed to "ee" instead of "eh"?

5. What word in American is used for the English word "shoe?"

(see the answer key)

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