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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 11.1.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Into what was the French surname "Beauchamp" translated in America?
(a) Fairfield.
(b) Gardner.
(c) Smith.
(d) Taylor.

2. What is the second characteristic that Mencken attributes to American English in Chapter 1.5?
(a) Resistance to neologisms.
(b) Disregard of rule and precedent.
(c) Disunity of regional dialects.
(d) Translatability to British English.

3. What word was "coatee" used as a diminutive for?
(a) Hat.
(b) Shawl.
(c) Beard.
(d) Coat.

4. In what dialect of English is "slick" used synonymously with "sleek" according to Chapter 9.10?
(a) South African.
(b) English.
(c) Australian.
(d) American.

5. Which nationality does Mencken claim is most eager to Americanize the names of their children?
(a) The Jews.
(b) The Germans.
(c) The Irish.
(d) The Italians.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the professor who advocates the assimilation and alteration of the spelling and accentuation of foreign words?

2. To what country does the English correspondent in Chapter 4.5 ascribe many American expletives?

3. What does the English "secondary school" correspond to in American?

4. Where was the broad "a" principally established prior to the Civil War?

5. What Anglo-Saxon word does Mencken report the colonists refused to replace with an Old Norse word of similar meaning?

(see the answer key)

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