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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1, An English-Speaking World.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Robert McCrum writes in the Introduction, "Language, we know, is in ceaseless ____."
(a) Flux.
(b) Love.
(c) Flow.
(d) Motion.

2. What is the name of the dialect generally associated with the British working class?
(a) Estuary.
(b) Cockney.
(c) RP.
(d) Queen's English.

3. When was the original edition of The Story of English published?
(a) 1975.
(b) 1980.
(c) 1986.
(d) 1990.

4. What television entertainer does Robert McCrum claim is the lineal descendant of Amos and Andy?
(a) Dave Chapelle.
(b) Eddie Murphy.
(c) Borat.
(d) Ali G.

5. What is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common?
(a) Simple.
(b) Pidgin.
(c) Common.
(d) Average.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which novelist defined English language fanatics as "Snoots"?

2. Who is listed as the Executive Producer of the television series The Story of English?

3. The establishment of what was an important moment for English as word choices had to be made for standard broadcasting?

4. Who is quoted from his Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language in the Introduction?

5. What is another word for Old English?

(see the answer key)

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