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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What principle of spelling was behind much of Webster's theory concerning the simplification of spelling?
(a) Phonetics.
(b) Convention.
(c) Vowel accentuation.
(d) Flexibility.

2. In what year did Noah Webster die?
(a) 1912.
(b) 1898.
(c) 1799.
(d) 1843.

3. In what parts of language does Mencken say the "chief grammatical peculiarities" of spoken English are found?
(a) Nouns and participles.
(b) Nouns and prepositions.
(c) Adverbs and adjectives.
(d) Verbs and pronouns.

4. What religious affiliation, commonly held in both countries, has had a larger influence on names in America than in England?
(a) Presbyterianism.
(b) Catholicism.
(c) Anglicanism.
(d) Puritanism.

5. What does Mencken say, in colloquial American, has obliterated the verb?
(a) The auxiliary.
(b) Vulgar speech.
(c) Illiteracy.
(d) Over-regulation.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sort of distinction frequently occurs between an adverb and its primary adjective?

2. According to the study of E.J. Hills, how many descriptive adjectives are possessed by the average child of two?

3. What language does the formalism of English grammarians come from?

4. Who does Mencken state are the true makers of grammar in Chapter 9.1?

5. Mencken reports hearing of a German named "Knoche," who to avoid being called "Nokky," changed his name to what?

(see the answer key)

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