Re: can-may

<cowardly skirting the prescriptiveness
(prescriptivity? prescription? (sorry, 'tis the week
after Christmas and I had too many cookies)) debate
;-)>

I find this discussion very interesting.

Around here (KY, USA) "may" is often used for "might".
 "It may snow" or "We may go to the movies tomorrow."
I'd guess over half of the time.

There's a difference between when I'd use might and
may, but I can't quite articulate it. I think it has
to do with volition and likelihood... "We may go"
implies that we might decide not to. "We might go"
could imply that it's less likely to happen than "we
may go" but it's pretty subtle, or it could imply that
something external could cause us not to go.

I wouldn't say "we may decide not to" in the previous
paragraph. I might say "it might imply" but not "it
may imply". I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's not
very certain, or maybe because it's just what I do and
not a conscious choice.

I hope that's not too incoherent :-)

It's used for permission in more formal circumstances.
 Like others have said, I'd never ask a host/ess, "Can
I have more coffee?"

What people around here tend to do in all but the most
informal cases is avoid the construction entirely. "Do
you mind if I..." instead of "Can/May I...", or
"Could/Would you..." sometimes, or something similar.
"may" does sound a bit too formal and quaint in a lot
of cases, but "can" is still too informal though it
seems to be gaining ground.

At work, I'd say "do you mind if I..." or similar. At
a formal dinner, etc. I might say "may", or I might
just say "That was good coffee" and wait until more
was offered :-) With family or close friends I'd say
"can" or "do you mind", and I'd get odd looks if I
said "may".

-- JC