Quiz 7

Which work marks the beginning of the prescription stage in the standarisation of English?

• Lowth’s Short Introduction to the English Language (1762)

• Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language (1755)

• Noah Webster’s (1828) American Dictionary of the English Language

• All of the above

The variety used by Henry V’s Signet Office was that spoken in the…

• South east area

• South west area

• East midland area

• West midland area

After 1066, the High functions that English had acquired during the OE period were suddenly taken over by…

• Latin

• French

• Scandinavian

• ON

What role did the printing press play in the dissemination of the English language during its early development?

• Reduction of vocabulary

• Promotion of regional dialects

• Standardized spelling

• Increased literacy rates

The selection of the <gh> spelling for the velar still pronounced by the end of the ME period (e.g. in knight) was regularized by…

• The church

• Chaucer

• The chancery

• John Fisher

During the reign of King Alfred (b. 849-901), which dialect became the medium of teaching and of scholarship?

• East midland

• West Saxon

• Kentish

• Northumbrian

The earliest attempts at standardizing English go back to…

• The OE period

• The ME period

• The early Modern English period

• The late Modern English period

Choose the incorrect statement as regards the spelling of debt and doubt.

• Debt and doubt were only spelled with a from the 16th century onwards

• The introduction of the was the result of Latin influence on the spelling

• These words had been borrowed from French as dette and doute

• These words had been borrowed from Latin already from the ME period

Who was responsible for introducing the printing press to England?

• William Caxton

• Samuel Johnson

• Richard Pynson

• William Shakespeare

The country’s independent administrative office traditionally associated with the rise of standard English is known as the ...

• Chancery English

• Chaucer's English

• GVS