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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9.2 | Chapter 9.3.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which Founding Father coined the term "to belittle"?
(a) Thomas Jefferson.
(b) Alexander Hamilton.
(c) James Madison.
(d) Benjamin Franklin.

2. Which European language has exerted the most influence on the American language?
(a) German.
(b) Italian.
(c) Spanish.
(d) French.

3. What does Sayce say that language is composed of in 1879?
(a) Letters.
(b) Meanings.
(c) Sounds.
(d) Words.

4. Which is the first factor that Mencken identifies as an immediate impediment to the growth of the American language in Chapter 3.1?
(a) Political disharmony.
(b) Lack of a national literature.
(c) Regional diversity.
(d) Territorial expansiveness.

5. Who proposed a generally accepted nomenclature for currency in 1785?
(a) Noah Webster.
(b) Thomas Jefferson.
(c) Richard Grant White.
(d) Gouverneur Morris.

Short Answer Questions

1. What spelling change is made from English to American in words such as "connection"?

2. According to Mencken, how do the English pronounce "been?"

3. What use of storage was added to the American meaning of the word "barn?"

4. What is the English meaning of the Hawaiian word "lanai"?

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

(see the answer key)

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