Re: can-may

Well, I was speaking from experience and what i've seen from people I
know, here in California, so I don't think I was overgeneralizing at
all.

Just to clarify _my_ usage:

- Can is used informally for requests and possibility in informal
situations: with friends, coworkers I'm close to, classmates.

- May is used in other situations for requests: at restaurants, with
older people, with my parents, with coworkers I'm not close to and
have a distant formal relationship (such as the boss).

- I tend to use may and might interchangeably, and I can't quite pin
down exactly when either will be used.

Personally, I don't see why people would frown upon the prescriptivism
of polite speech? I see absolutely no problem being prescriptivist
there, as manners and politeness, and courtesy are some of the things
that keep societies running smoothly. There's a massive erosion of
politeness in public, which is a damn shame, because it pisses
customer service types off, like myself :).



--
You can turn away from me
but there's nothing that'll keep me here you know
And you'll never be the city guy
Any more than I'll be hosting The Scooby Show

Scooby Show - Belle and Sebastian