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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 10.1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What notable author was the first Englishman to carry Americanisms successfully back to his home?
(a) G.K. Chesterton.
(b) Charles Dickens.
(c) Cleveland Coxe.
(d) Joseph Conrad.

2. According to the study of E.J. Hills, how many descriptive adjectives are possessed by the average child of two?
(a) 72.
(b) 59.
(c) 23.
(d) 173.

3. Who proposed a generally accepted nomenclature for currency in 1785?
(a) Gouverneur Morris.
(b) Thomas Jefferson.
(c) Richard Grant White.
(d) Noah Webster.

4. What does the movement towards the general vowel neutralization promise to do in the future, according to Mencken?
(a) Reduce the number of vowel sounds, but not the vowels themselves.
(b) Clarify the pronunciation of vowels.
(c) Create new vowels.
(d) Dispose of many vowels.

5. What use of storage was added to the American meaning of the word "barn?"
(a) Cattle.
(b) Horses.
(c) Chickens.
(d) Crops.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Which of the following is one of the three great causes of change in language according to Sayce, as reported in Chapter 9.3?

3. Which adjectival prefix does Mencken state is confined to the more sophisticated classes?

4. To how many in number does the comparative adjective relate?

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

(see the answer key)

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