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

2. What sound did Webster object to inserting in words such as "gradual" and "nature," before the "u"?
(a) Ch.
(b) T.
(c) Y.
(d) Dh.

3. 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

4. What does Mencken list as dominant the English alternative for the word "mail"?
(a) Post.
(b) Postals.
(c) Shipping.
(d) Letters.

5. The prudish reluctance to name what sort of diseases hindered proper preventative information?
(a) Venereal.
(b) Psychological.
(c) Gastro-intestinal.
(d) Cancerous.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which Founding Father coined the term "to belittle"?

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

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

4. How many pages in "The King's English" are dedicated to explaining the distinction between "will" and "shall"?

5. What does Mencken state is neglected by those who are professional trained to investigate it?

(see the answer key)

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