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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 3.1 | Chapter 3.2.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word in American is used for the English word "shoe?"
(a) Slipper.
(b) Sandal.
(c) Boot.
(d) Footing.

2. What Anglo-Saxon word does Mencken report the colonists refused to replace with an Old Norse word of similar meaning?
(a) Sick.
(b) Vapid.
(c) Hale.
(d) Ill.

3. To what continent does Mencken attribute the acknowledgment of the differences between American and British English?
(a) North America.
(b) South America.
(c) Europe.
(d) Asia.

4. What vowel sound was dominant in 18th century New England pronunciation, despite common protests to the contrary?
(a) Broad o.
(b) Broad a.
(c) Flat e.
(d) Flat a.

5. 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) Territorial expansiveness.
(d) Political disharmony.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is the author of "Dissertations on the English Language"?

2. According to Mencken, what did the first generations born in the New World value as a virtue over enterprise and resourcefulness?

3. According to the tale spread by William Gifford, what language was supposed to be substituted for English during the Revolutionary War?

4. Which of the following did the African slaves NOT introduce to American English?

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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