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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What combines with vowels to make pronunciation rules difficult to define?
(a) Punctuation
(b) Complex spelling rules
(c) Cultural dialects
(d) Too many consonants

2. When does modern English begin to emerge?
(a) The 12th century
(b) The 19th century
(c) The 20th century
(d) The 15th century

3. Who invades England in 1066?
(a) The Normans
(b) The French
(c) The Norwegians
(d) The Romans

4. Regional trends have common accent features but no speakers who _________________________________.
(a) can teach proper English
(b) can emulate someone else
(c) can be emulated
(d) all speak in exactly the same way

5. What is usually important to users of other languages that the English language expresses with one general category word?
(a) Slang
(b) Groups of words
(c) Colloquialisms
(d) Acronyms

6. The author discusses the elements that English lacks but that ______________________________.
(a) Make it a superior language regardless
(b) Could stand improvement
(c) Other languages have
(d) Really don't make a difference

7. How many new words did Shakespeare invent?
(a) Over one thousand
(b) Over five hundred
(c) Over two thousand
(d) Over two hundred

8. What language is most commonly chosen by international businesses?
(a) French
(b) English
(c) Japanese
(d) Italian

9. What do the Asian languages have less of than other languages?
(a) syllables
(b) vowels
(c) consonants
(d) sound-symbol connection

10. Physical communication strategies include proximity between speakers, hand gestures and ______________________.
(a) tics
(b) utterances
(c) facial expression
(d) head movements

11. What allows a speaker to express class status?
(a) Sentence structure
(b) Synonyms
(c) Antonyms
(d) Accents

12. What is common to most English speakers?
(a) Slurring
(b) Dropping end letters
(c) Talking too fast
(d) Stuttering

13. Who establishes a large presence in Northern England in the year 850?
(a) The Russians
(b) The French
(c) The Romans
(d) The Danish Vikings

14. What helps a listener and speaker to use the correct word when in doubt?
(a) A dictionary
(b) Context
(c) A friend
(d) Trial and error

15. In whose work can inconsistent spelling be found due to the event of #67?
(a) Shakespeare
(b) Dante
(c) Chaucer
(d) Faulkner

Short Answer Questions

1. Chapter 6 addresses the changing pronunciation of which language over time?

2. Who tries to organize information about how people speak?

3. For what is the Venerable Bede famous?

4. The English writing system developed from what?

5. According to the author what is the most striking example of a word with multiple meanings?

(see the answer keys)

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