tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post9012809409828520091..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: 'can I get' reduxlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-64437935218353271102020-08-12T14:02:34.491+01:002020-08-12T14:02:34.491+01:00BrE (Scot, 60+) Whatever combination of can/may I ...BrE (Scot, 60+) Whatever combination of can/may I have/get is used, what grates with me is the lack of. “please”, but that isn’t the exam question here. I have been corrected for saying “can l” instead of “may I” maybe twice in my life. I understand that can refers to ability, and may refers to being allowed, but really, people this pedantic ususually seem to view the may form as more POLITE rather than more CORRECT.<br /><br />In terms of meaning, I no longer perceive a difference between “can I have” and “ can I get”. However, I have been surprised by American commenters who interpret “can I have” as somehow imperious. For me it’s the other way round. “Can I get” generally sounds abrupt and demanding, to the point of rudeness. I’m very sure it’s more a tone of voice thing that what the words mean. I’m also fairly sure that what sounds rude and abrupt to me isn’t usually intended by the speaker,Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26141541670367612922017-11-18T20:13:31.951+00:002017-11-18T20:13:31.951+00:00I believe in UK now, almost anyone under 30 uses &...I believe in UK now, almost anyone under 30 uses "can I get". It really grates on me as I always imagine them climbing over the bar or counter to "get" whatever it is.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01551052234283826400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-89010556806613984132015-08-06T05:35:06.525+01:002015-08-06T05:35:06.525+01:00"Get" insinuates that you will 'seek..."Get" insinuates that you will 'seek out and obtain'. Used correctly, a conversation would go as follows:<br /><br />Customer: "Can I get a glass of water?"<br />Waiter: "No please don't trouble yourself. Allow me to get it for you"<br /><br />Or<br /><br />Customer: "can i get a glass of water?"<br />Waiter: "yes, by all means. There is a tap in the kitchen."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237357475553677618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-55088093171708195642015-06-06T14:59:44.922+01:002015-06-06T14:59:44.922+01:00For me, born in the UK, 'can I get..?' gra...For me, born in the UK, 'can I get..?' grates so much. I would be tempted to reply 'yes, you can get it, it is over there'.<br />I use 'can I have...?' or even more polite, 'May I have...?'. Always followed by 'please'.<br /><br />By the way, my wife hates the word 'fetch'. I use it to mean 'go to another place and bring back'. She thinks it sounds more like what you would say to a dog when throwing a stick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-16863866751611468822015-01-04T20:08:44.894+00:002015-01-04T20:08:44.894+00:00Having lived half my life in Spain, this has rung ...Having lived half my life in Spain, this has rung a few bells for me. A big difference between English and Spanish "ordering etiquette" is the Spanish preference for phrases such as "Will you give me a...?" The frequent lack of Anglo-Saxon "please" is compensated for by a subtle conversion of the request into a question, which implies that the person serving retains control by deciding whether to serve, once availability of the said object is confirmed. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84406362426861609982014-10-04T09:14:17.391+01:002014-10-04T09:14:17.391+01:00I have just moved back to London after 15 years aw...I have just moved back to London after 15 years away and the two things that have struck me are the huge increase in the numbers of bikes on the roads, and the almost total prevalence of 'can I get' in restaurants and sandwich bars, which just sounds alien to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-51404304760759766772014-09-29T15:24:59.001+01:002014-09-29T15:24:59.001+01:00For me, I think the problem is with the interperso...For me, I think the problem is with the interpersonality.<br /><br />In the contexts of <b>things coming into my possession</b>, the basic meaning (for me) of <i>get</i> is 'obtain'. If the context clearly excludes the possibility of <b>obtaining it on the spot</b>, then the meaning 'fetch' seems natural.<br /><br />A constraint on my speech (and probably that of many British speakers) is that I don't use <i>get</i> to mean 'obtain <b>from the person I'm speaking to</b>'.<br /><br />[Well, I can say <i>What will I get from you?</i> but to me that feels quasi-impersonal]<br /><br />Normally, I interpret it to mean one of the following:<br /><br />• obtain from someone and somewhere unspecified <br /><br />• obtain from someone unspecified at a specific place<br /><br />• obtain from a third party, not the person I'm speaking to<br /><br />• obtain by my own efforts — hence the equation with <i>fetch</i><br /><br />I would say that <br /><br />† <i>get a job</i> and <i>get a chance</i> usually mean 'obtain from someone somewhere'<br /><br />† <i>get a copy</i> and <i>get a drink</i> usually mean 'obtain from the usual provider', but can also mean 'obtain by own efforts' — either 'take right here' or 'fetch'<br /><br />I would't include <i>get a bus</i> here because <i>get</i> means something other than 'obtain'.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20180408696589747352014-09-29T13:57:05.189+01:002014-09-29T13:57:05.189+01:00The most frequent substantive nouns following '...The most frequent substantive nouns following 'get' in the British National Corpus (searching for 'get a NOUN' include: job, chance, copy, drink, bus. (These data are about 25 years old.) (A lot of the nouns are things like 'lot' and 'couple', which are not what's being got(ten).)<br /><br />Some of those could involve fetching, but most don't. For instance, looking at the 'copy' examples, I don't see any that involve anyone going and making a copy themselves--it's things like 'can I get a copy of that' or 'do they get a copy of that'. The recency of this use in UK is much exagerrated. Certainly, when you get a letter, it's not by fetching it, but by it being delivered to you. <br /><br /><i>Get</i> is a word with many, many meanings in every English. 'Fetch' is but one of them. The issue here is not the meaning of the word, but the change in norms for requesting things. People aren't complaining about 'I got a letter/coffee/notion from her' but just the 'can I get' formulation. lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-5270892914709259852014-09-29T13:44:04.334+01:002014-09-29T13:44:04.334+01:00In Britain 'get' is synonymous with 'f...In Britain 'get' is synonymous with 'fetch' so if someone asks "can I get..." at a shop counter they are implying that they want to go behind the counter and fetch it themselves.Robert Taylornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82282760582294708092014-09-29T13:43:21.207+01:002014-09-29T13:43:21.207+01:00In Britain 'get' is synonymous with 'f...In Britain 'get' is synonymous with 'fetch' so if someone asks "can I get..." at a shop counter they are implying that they want to go behind the counter and fetch it themselves.Robert Taylornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-69319478831034245922014-09-21T16:27:28.800+01:002014-09-21T16:27:28.800+01:00British, 56.
To my ears, 'get' is active, ...British, 56.<br />To my ears, 'get' is active, 'have' passive; a request has the corresponding sense.<br />I hear 'Can I get' increasingly these days, predominantly amongst younger people. Although, of course, I understand the intention, it still sounds to me like an enquiry as to one's ability to fetch (an item).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35216383920414216632013-09-17T16:09:08.733+01:002013-09-17T16:09:08.733+01:00I don't like "Can I get...? - it just doe...I don't like "Can I get...? - it just doesn't sound right to my (Welsh) ears. Much like the nonsense now involved in buying a very mediocre cup of coffee in any of the chains, or describing a minced meat pattie in a bun as a "sandwich".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-21114566251264507372013-07-13T12:40:00.953+01:002013-07-13T12:40:00.953+01:00As a Barman for 12 years in the north east of Engl...As a Barman for 12 years in the north east of England I've noticed a dramatic increase in customers requesting with "can I get a...". It's used to be just the younger people of about 20ish but now it's spread up to 50 year olds. I can still rely on the pensioners though as they generally say "may I have a..." which is nice. "Can I get a..." is something that grates on my nervous but I'm slowly accepting it as the norm. I would prefer it if people said "can you get me a..." it makes more sense. I would like to say, if you can't beat them join them but on this particular anomaly I'm quite happy being ignorant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13207937183077744950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60739369836741815692013-03-23T16:39:50.019+00:002013-03-23T16:39:50.019+00:00You're welcome to your own tastes about words,...You're welcome to your own tastes about words, but not to your own facts--at least not if you're trying to explain English as it's spoken by anyone but you.<br /><br />The modal verb 'can' is the most multi-meaninged of the modal verbs. Whole PhD theses/dissertations have been written about it (I supervised one of them!). Similarly, 'get' has many meanings--the Collins English Dictionary entry has 27. If we want to get 'technical' about language, there is no single way of interpreting anything with these words in them. <br /><br />lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-14362126144546215482013-03-23T10:02:51.300+00:002013-03-23T10:02:51.300+00:00My goodness, this is AMAZING!
I am writing this h...My goodness, this is AMAZING!<br /><br />I am writing this having found your article whilst searching on google for "can I get - Americanism" whilst travelling on a train in Yorkshire. What has prompted me is that of the 25 or so people on my carriage (or car for those of you in other parts of the world), when asked by the lady with the trolley what they would like, the VAST MAJORITY started their reply with "Can I get"....a coffee, a tea etc. I am noticing it more and more here, and with older people too as they hear it said more and more when ordering in our god-forsaken proliferation of extortionate flavoured-hot-water providing emporia.<br /><br />Look, two points:<br /><br />Firstly, "can" is from the verb which means to be (physically) able to. Can pigs fly? Answer - no. Can humans speak? Answer - yes, unless they are unfortunately mute or have some other disability. So when you request "Can I have" something, in British English, you are technically asking someone their opinion as to whether you it is physically possible to do / obtain something. So if it's "can I have a coffee?" And you're in a place where you could purchase one, the answer would technically be yes but with no action from the respondent. If you use MAY when requesting, the respondent knows you are asking them to consider obtaining / providing something for you.<br /><br />Secondly, "get" as used in "can (or indeed "may") I get " implies that the person saying it will obtain it themselves, which is clearly NOT what the person means when ordering at Starbucks counter. So, if you stand there and say "Can I get a Latte?" In British English the respondent should correctly consider whether you can (are you physically capable of doing / getting (for yourself)) a drink of latte and reply with a simple yes or no based on that assessment, and take no action. If you said "May I get a Latte?" this would correctly be taken by the respondent to mean you we're asking permission to come behind the counter and "get" (for yourself) a Latte. The respondent would respond on that basis (with likely a "no" in a Starbucks, and if I was serving you, I'd say "no, but I'm happy to make you one". <br /><br />"Can I get" is wrong on all levels, and grossly impolite / dismissive too. I found some of the points above very revealing...people would use "May I have" in someone's house but "can I get" to a waiter because they "expect" on demand "because we're paying". What about a bit of common courtesy to the waitress too? Why treat them like second class citizens? This is actually true Americanism.....money being king of everything.<br /><br />British, 40s, about to be criticised for views above, but actually spot on with technical explanations of these words.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24583176041508489422012-10-18T18:40:27.131+01:002012-10-18T18:40:27.131+01:00In my house growing up (in the 80's and 90'...In my house growing up (in the 80's and 90's) if I asked "Can I Have a soda?" my mom would say yes. But she would not "get it for me" She would "get if for me" if I asked her "Can I get a soda?"Mindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-61761193522251269262012-09-09T17:39:32.341+01:002012-09-09T17:39:32.341+01:00I'm a british male (33) and I have to agree wi...I'm a british male (33) and I have to agree with you on this one. I work in a bar which serves food and today a lady of about the same age approached me and asked if she could "get" some butter [for her bread], to which I replied "yeah sure, do you know where it is?". Needless to say she looked completely godsmacked but she didn't think about what she'd said, she waited until I told her i'd get it for her. It's a silly expression and needs to stop!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-440569902756466122011-02-27T12:43:23.274+00:002011-02-27T12:43:23.274+00:00I'm a British male in my early 40s, I really h...I'm a British male in my early 40s, I really hate the expression "Can I get a....", I hear it all the time nowadays, in shops, cafes etc. Only the other day I was in a sandwich shop and a young guy said to the shopkeeper "Erm, ya, erm, hi, can I get a ham and cheese bun" Arrrrrggghhhh! I wanted to throttle him and say "No! YOU CAN'T! You can ask for a ham and cheese bun, and the shop keeper will get it for you!"Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00898136962855905171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-76190783338393523272010-10-05T14:35:05.893+01:002010-10-05T14:35:05.893+01:00I'm female, British, late 30s. In 1994 I had a...I'm female, British, late 30s. In 1994 I had an American boyfriend and spent a few weeks visiting him in California, where everyone said 'can I get...?', all the time. After that visit I noticed it creeping into my vocabulary (naively, I was quite wowed by the West Coast lifestyle and its associated habits, which probably had something to do with it). Being also a bit of a language geek, I was very attuned to it, and listened out for it when back in the UK. For quite a while, the only people I heard using it here were Americans. It wasn't until the late 90s that I noticed it becoming common usage among Brits. Perhaps there's something in the notion of a Friends influence as mentioned in a previous comment.azziebnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-40008823380347809752010-09-23T05:01:15.060+01:002010-09-23T05:01:15.060+01:00Whether it is "can I have" or "may ...Whether it is "can I have" or "may I have" is dependent on the customs of the restaurant. However, in a house (or if in doubt) it is always "may I have" because in a house the primary concern is may one have the freedom to either request or move about the house to help oneself to what one wants.<br /><br />In a restaurant where menus are readily available and customarily used it is appropriate to say "may I have" assuming one is ordering from the menu and therefore the selection is available and thus one "can (is able [to])... have" it. In this case one is merely making a courteous request to the server, waiter, or host to bring said selection to him/her.<br /><br />If in a restaurant where menus are not readily available and are not customarily used, it is acceptable to say “can I have…” since there may be no way of knowing if the item desired is available. In such a case the question truly is “am I able to have…”.Jay Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18086908314821997258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-45224874795396321122010-03-11T13:59:33.637+00:002010-03-11T13:59:33.637+00:00Hi I'm a Londoner and notice that no one seems...Hi I'm a Londoner and notice that no one seems to say can I have any more.<br />It might be me being paranoid but I seem to trace the rise in the phrase back to the tv show Friends. Late 90's and since then it has taken over.Grumpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17206277391652272547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-82065144976801020572009-12-16T12:53:37.203+00:002009-12-16T12:53:37.203+00:00What a great discussion. I'm British (English...What a great discussion. I'm British (English), 37 years old and male. I work in a city and often hear people younger than me in sandwich shops ask "can I get..." a variety of items which sounds odd to me in the same way as stated above. I use "I'll have..." if I can see the item I want or I am certain that it is available and out of sight. I use "can I have...?" if I am unsure of an unseen item's availability. I was teaching english in South India earlier this year and a lot of younger people there use the phrase "I didn't get you" if they didn't understand something that you said to them during a conversational exchange. I tried to discuss this a couple of times with my fellow conversators but it went nowhere...Chris Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05089897139192373834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-31291521159153209522009-10-17T16:32:18.209+01:002009-10-17T16:32:18.209+01:00German, lived in Vancouver, now in London, I stumb...German, lived in Vancouver, now in London, I stumbled upon this small difference as well i.e. when ordering food. Thanks for clarifying that there actually is a difference and English always has a nice surprise waiting. :-)Christianhttp://www.christianmeyer.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60644954394671196192009-07-27T22:55:22.261+01:002009-07-27T22:55:22.261+01:00I'm 52 and English and this usage drives me nu...I'm 52 and English and this usage drives me nuts, or at least it did two years ago when I wrote this: http://strawberryyog.blogspot.com/2007/06/can-i-get.html - I'm trying to be more tolerant now but I still find it grates, painfully, when used by English people.Strawberryyoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01088158170872265875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-4567551874893201392009-07-13T22:34:25.774+01:002009-07-13T22:34:25.774+01:00This is an interesting discussion. I think "c...This is an interesting discussion. I think "can I get" when used in a restaurant or cafe still sounds odd to most British people of all ages. Some young British people use it in an attempt to sound fashionably American. "Can I have" is the most normal sounding way of saying it, followed by "May I have" but that sounds a bit old-fashioned in my opinion. I'm interested that many Americans find "Can I have" an odd way of saying it, as if to say "is it possible", but the strange thing is that "is it possible to have a glass of water" is actually used by some British people to order a glass of water, so maybe that explains why "can I have" is used.<br /><br />In a strange way "can I get" sounds a bit dishonest to me as a British person, in the sense that it sounds as if one is trying to imply that it is "I" who will be getting the drink, not the waiter or waitress. If "get" is going to be used, it should be "can you get" but that obviously sounds a bit rude. Therefore using "can I get" is an attempt to say "can you get" without being rude, but it does sound a bit dishonest from a British perspective.Andy JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15819413906544791899noreply@blogger.com