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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 4.4 | Chapter 4.5.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What event does Mencken credit with strengthening the obfuscation of distinction between American and British English?
(a) The First World War.
(b) The French Revolution.
(c) The advent of the transatlantic telephone line.
(d) The bombing of London.

3. What does Mencken say newspaper reporters no longer "slobber" over?
(a) British idioms.
(b) Interviews.
(c) Ceremonies.
(d) Tragedies.

4. What word did Webster argue should have its vowel sound changed to "ee" instead of "eh"?
(a) Deaf.
(b) Beer.
(c) Beef.
(d) Heft.

5. According to Benjamin Franklin, what was roughly the population of the colonies in 1751?
(a) 500,000
(b) 10,000,000
(c) 1,000,000
(d) 50,000,000

Short Answer Questions

1. Which Founding Father is said to have sought to establish a new American alphabet?

2. According to Chapter 2.6, what regional pronunciation is erroneously thought by some to have superior authority regarding English pronunciation?

3. What does Mencken list as dominant the English alternative for the word "mail"?

4. Whose clarity of prevision does Mencken praise in the opening of Chapter 1.1?

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

(see the answer key)

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