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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. Which of the following does Wilcox not list as a negative treatment of the English language by grammarians?
2. How is "Des Moines" pronounced in American, according to Mencken?
3. Which of the following does names, used for a settlement, Mencken not list as bespattering the land?
4. Which of the following nations does Mencken not list as having more interesting war slang than the Americans during the Great War?
5. Which still-popular German given name survives today, with a slight change in spelling, as Mencken reports in Chapter 10.2?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
One of the hardest aspects of any language that is almost impossible to classify is the nuances of pronunciation. Write an essay analyzing the problems caused by the varieties and degrees of pronunciation. Have the difficulties it causes those who study the American language. What is the definition of pronunciation? How does Mencken treat of pronunciation? What are the ways in which it may change an auditor's understanding of a language? How is the American pronunciation divergent from the British? What particularities of the American pronunciation are significant in comprehension of the American language?
Essay Topic 2
An implicit premise throughout Mencken's work is that of the influence the overall national character and spirit has on the formation of a language. Write an essay discussing and analyzing the possibility and evidence of this connection. What are the national characters of Americans and Englishmen? How is this shown in their languages? What influence do these character traits have on linguistic formulations and habits of the people? What are some specific examples by which this influence can be seen? What is the ultimate significance of this connection?
Essay Topic 3
Compose an essay analyzing the Americanization of foreign names, as presented in The American Language. How are they Americanized? What characterizes the Americanization of surnames? What characterizes the Americanization of given names? What influences their Americanization? Why are they Americanized? What is lost by their Americanization? What is the result of this tendency to conformity?
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This section contains 359 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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