Ah- this has been covered off already...
what with language being needed in order to communicate
But it isn't! Point at a pump and see what you convey - it'll probably communicate far more than your desire for a pint. You'll be told where to shove your dire attitude, the barman will go home and tell their boyfriend they had ANOTHER self important wetwipe in the bar etc etc. All of this communicates far more than "May I have a pint please", which is instantly forgettable.
Saying that, go to another bar and they might throw you out for saying please or not wearing the right kind of hat.
It depends on so many factors, a bit like cycling two abreast on a single lane road. I like that you've drawn the line at 'anything without a please isn't cricket', that's good.
In my mind, it's [b]all[/b] proper use of language - it's just all the other stuff you may be telling other people through your choice of words that's important, and what this thread is about.
Plus I'm soft in the head.
although it does display a shocking lack of discrimination or taste when it comes to choice of refreshment.
Smiley face.
I prefer 'Give it to me now or I'll blow your f***ing brains out'. Works best when you enter the shop carrying an AR-7. I find you also get served first and there's no back chat either...
[url= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2655/3972924986_86b4e12cae.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/3972924986/ ]Trying to fit in ;-)[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/brf/ ]brf[/url], on Flickr
But it isn't! Point at a pump and see what you convey - it'll probably communicate far more than your desire for a pint. You'll be told where to shove your dire attitude, the barman will go home and tell their boyfriend they had ANOTHER self important wetwipe in the bar etc etc. All of this communicates far more than "May I have a pint please", which is instantly forgettable.
I think we actually agree on this then - my point is that, by saying "Can I.. please?" I'm not merely conveying the information that I would like a tasteless, overchilled, industrially manufactured beverage, I'm also, by speaking and saying "please" conveying my respect to the barman and recognising his humanity. If I point at the pump, I'm merely treating him as a component in a lager dispensing system. So, yes, absolutely, the two convey different things.
However, regarding the difference between "Can I get.. please?" and "I would like... please?" I am struggling to find one...
' I want' in our house doesn't get.
It's either please may I have or could I have please.
The words please and/or thank you don't take much time, energy or effort, yet most people seem to have forgotten how to use them at the correct time and place.
'Can I get....?' Should be met with 'of course, help yourself'....
Standards, standards. Without them we are just apes 🙂
Can I get?
Only if you do the math.
Enough already!
'Can I get', implies you wish to obtain the beverage yourself. The barkeep has been pacifically employed to serve drinks to customers, therefore, 'May I have', is the correct term.
If you are in a self-serve restaurant, then by all means ask an attendant whether or not you may 'get' yourself a drink/food.
Or when Dear Leader say ... "Go hang" ... hang what? My shoes? 🙄
FFS! Why doesn't he just say "Go hang yourselves"? Or "Go kill yourselves if you don't like it"?
edlong - top post 🙂
time for some ice cold refreshment I feel.
The difference is small, and barely warrants notice in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless its potential existence alone and any effect it may have is used primarily as a tool by some to feel superior to others 😀
Wooooo
