"can I get a..."

[Lynne Murphy]

In response to various queries about my query on 'can I get a'.

- I'm not saying that the British never say it, but that it's perceived as
a borrowing from the US.

- The British don't actually think it means 'can I get myself a', but
that's the way it sounds to their ears.

- 'I'd like a...' or 'Can/Could/May I have a' are some things that a
British person (or an American, for that matter) would use to request
something.

Thanks for the responses.  I have another question to post shortly...

Lynne
http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com

--On Monday, June 5, 2006 10:30 am -0400 Beverly Flanigan
<flanigan at OHIO.EDU> wrote:

> I interpreted Lynne's comment as meaning the Brits interpret our "Can I
> get..." as meaning "Can I myself walk around the counter and get myself
> [whatever]?"  A ridiculous interpretation, of course--which is why none of
> us caught the drift, I suspect!  And the query has nothing to do with the
> presumed can/may distinction, which is as dead as a doornail on both sides
> of the pond, isn't it?
>
> At 01:14 AM 6/5/2006, you wrote:
>> This is a very common and completely unexceptionable way to order,
>> especially in informal settings, such as a diner, fast-food place, or
>> snack bar.  A variant is "Can I have a ...".   Sometimes, of course,
>> especially in places with no obvious menu, the question is a true
>> interrogative. I can't imagine what your derisive compatriots were
>> thinking of, unless they were making some sort of bring/take-like
>> distinction.  I should think that if being on the customer side of the
>> counter precluded getting anything, then business would dry up pretty
>> quick, at least in America.
>>
>> What would be the properly British expression?
>>
>> Seán Fitzpatrick
>> [H'mm.  Brits disdain Americanisms, but we are rather taken with
>> Britishisms.  Perhaps it's time to put UK tags on the embargo list, along
>> with French wines and cheeses.  I think I'll start with "at the end of
>> the day".]
>> http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/
>>
>>
>>
>> I haven't read anything on the subject, but in New York City another
>> variation is, "Let me have the five-piece chicken" or "Let me get the
>> Double Whopper." It comes out, "lemme," of course.
>>
>> Grant Barrett
>> gbarrett at worldnewyork.org
>> http://www.doubletongued.org/
>>
>> The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English (May 2006, McGraw-Hill)
>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071458042/
>>
>>
>> On Jun 4, 2006, at 07:34, Lynne Murphy wrote:
>>
>> > Can anyone tell me if anything's been written about "can I get a" as a
>> > request form, as in "Can I get a double decaf cappuccino?"?
>> >
>> > It's one of those things that's derided here as Americanism--with two
>> > Englishmen I've talked to saying that it sounds like the customer
>> > is asking
>> > to come to the other side of the counter and make themselves a coffee.
>> > It's stereotypically associated with Starbucks culture and revival
>> > meetings
>> > ("Can I get a witness?" "Can I get an 'amen'?")--both pretty American
>> > institutions.
>> >
>> > I ask because I've just started a blog about US/UK dialectal
>> > differences
>> > that I run into on a daily basis.  If you're interested, it's at:
>> >
>> > http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com
>> >
>> > tata,
>> > Lynne
>> >
>> > Dr M Lynne Murphy
>> > Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and English Language
>> > Arts B133
>> > University of Sussex
>> > Brighton BN1 9QN
>> >
>> > phone: +44-(0)1273-678844
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



Dr M Lynne Murphy
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and English Language
Arts B133
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QN

phone: +44-(0)1273-678844

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org