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

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

3. How many classifications of Americanisms does Bartlett postulate in his 1859 dictionary?
(a) Forty-two.
(b) Three.
(c) Nine.
(d) Four.

4. According to Chapter 2.6, what regional pronunciation is erroneously thought by some to have superior authority regarding English pronunciation?
(a) New York.
(b) Boston.
(c) Chicago.
(d) South-eastern.

5. What does Mencken state is neglected by those who are professional trained to investigate it?
(a) Philological anomalies.
(b) The vulgate.
(c) Idiosyncrasies.
(d) Formal grammar.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. How many classifications of Americanisms does Gilbert M. Tucker provide in 1921?

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

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

5. To what phrase did Benjamin Franklin, Noah Webster, and Robert Southey object as a base Americanism, as discussed in Chapter 2.3?

(see the answer key)

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