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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 6.1 | Chapter 6.2.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What word does Mencken find Dr. John Dewey using in place of the word "opium?"
(a) Poppy.
(b) Dope.
(c) Crack.
(d) Skag.

3. Whom does Mencken use to exemplify the flouting of linguistic purity in Chapter 6.1?
(a) Famers.
(b) Working men.
(c) Professors.
(d) Politicians.

4. Which term do English dictionaries all describe as an Americanism from the comparative list in Chapter 4.1, despite the English version being frequently used in America?
(a) Rooster.
(b) Freight.
(c) Hog-pen.
(d) Railroad.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is the second characteristic that Mencken attributes to American English in Chapter 1.5?

3. What country's works dominated the reading habits of the American colonists in the latter 18th century?

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

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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