Food & Drink1 min ago
Can I get...?
18 Answers
I stand at a bar and a young person appears, saying to the barmaid, "Can I get a pint of Stella, please?" I think, "You're obviously over 18, you're in a British pub, there's a Stella tap right in front of you...of COURSE you can get a pint of Stella!"
Given that, "A pint of Stella, please," would work perfectly well, why the completely superfluous "Can I get?"
(Note, I'm not complaining about it, just Amused and BEmused!)
Given that, "A pint of Stella, please," would work perfectly well, why the completely superfluous "Can I get?"
(Note, I'm not complaining about it, just Amused and BEmused!)
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Quizmonster. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I was actually asking for one as opposed to answering your question :)
I think people think they are being more polite if they ask for it as opposed to saying 'Pint of stella please'. I suppose saying "Can I get a pint" is slightly more polite that saying "A pint of stella please", well I see it that way anyway.
I think people think they are being more polite if they ask for it as opposed to saying 'Pint of stella please'. I suppose saying "Can I get a pint" is slightly more polite that saying "A pint of stella please", well I see it that way anyway.
"A pint of Stella, please" is a perfectly polite way of asking for that product. Similarly, "A day return to Southampton, please" or "Two granary rolls and a pasty, please" or endless millions of other such requests.
My point is that this, "Can I get..." approach is relatively recent and seems to be used only by people under 30.
Accordingly, I imagined someone might point out that it is how some popular soap characters make such questions. For example, the questioning tone used by the same British age-group at the end of sentences when the words are a statement, not a question, was often blamed on the impact of Australian speech-patterns in 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away'.
So, does anyone actually have an answer for me?
My point is that this, "Can I get..." approach is relatively recent and seems to be used only by people under 30.
Accordingly, I imagined someone might point out that it is how some popular soap characters make such questions. For example, the questioning tone used by the same British age-group at the end of sentences when the words are a statement, not a question, was often blamed on the impact of Australian speech-patterns in 'Neighbours' and 'Home and Away'.
So, does anyone actually have an answer for me?
JJ's right, it's American. I think it's standard American, much as 'May I have...' is standard British. (And the answer to 'May I have' might equally be 'Of course you may, help yourself.') Exactly how it made its way across the Atlantic I don't know; it could have stowed away in any one of thousands of films and TV series.
Thanks to all for your answers. I did suspect it was an Americanism, but hoped that someone would appear and write, for example, "That's what everyone used to say in the coffee-shop in 'Friends'" or some such specific source that became a favourite over here, too.
Let me repeat that I wasn't saying there was anything actually 'wrong' with it. Actually, I believe that British English would be much drabber without its trans-Pond imports. Also, I've never heard anyone under about 30 use it, as I wrote earlier, despite the fact that I spend a lot of my time "standing at bars", as suggested in my question!
Anyway, cheers for your offerings.
Let me repeat that I wasn't saying there was anything actually 'wrong' with it. Actually, I believe that British English would be much drabber without its trans-Pond imports. Also, I've never heard anyone under about 30 use it, as I wrote earlier, despite the fact that I spend a lot of my time "standing at bars", as suggested in my question!
Anyway, cheers for your offerings.
Yes, Alba, "Have you got..?" sounds as if it may be out of the same stable as "Can I get..?" Of course, bottles in bars are generally pretty much out of sight in cold cupboards, so it's not totally unreasonable to ask a barmaid if she has "got" a specific beer there. On the other hand, "Can I get a latte?" seems an absurd thing to say in a coffee-shop!
I've read this chain with great pleasure! ... this is in the same vein as my making an enquiry to someone, and the person responding "what was your name, please?" - I so much have to bite my lip and say "my name IS" - rather than "when do you mean - my name hasn't changed..." Language changes, but it doesn't mean we have to like it!!