"can I" and "may I"

Guest   Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:36 pm GMT
Is there any difference between "Can I" and "May I"?
Kirk   Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:38 pm GMT
Their usages often overlap but "may I" is considered more polite if you're in doubt over whether or not to use a more polite form.
Travis   Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:48 pm GMT
Note that one will also hear "could I" being used in the same places that one would also hear "may I". Also note that "could I" is slightly less formal than "may I" but more formal than "can I".
Guest   Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:53 pm GMT
What about "can't I"? You can't say "mayn't I", can you?
Kirk   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:30 am GMT
<<You can't say "mayn't I", can you?>>

Apparently that word exists (I just checked a dictionary) but I never hear it and don't use it myself.
Guest   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:36 am GMT
"Mayn't" is used by the British, I think.
M56   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:40 am GMT
<Is there any difference between "Can I" and "May I"?>

Yes. "May I" shows that the speaker accepts or understands that the listener has direct authority to grant permission. "Can I" shows that the speaker accepts or understands that the listener has indirect authority to grant permission or has knowledge of the rules/prohibitions.

May I smoke in here?

OK, go on, I'll let you.
-------
Can I smoke in here?

Erm, yes, I think so.
Guest   Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:10 am GMT
In actual usage, "can" is often used to request permission.
M56   Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:52 am GMT
<In actual usage, "can" is often used to request permission.>

It is indeed. Far more than "may".
Travis   Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:31 am GMT
At least here, if one is trying to be explicitly polite, it is far more likely that "could" or "may" would be used than "can". While I myself tend towards using "could" except when trying to very polite, I very frequently hear "may" being used by others in commonplace situations like sales transactions and like, especially by individuals older than myself.
M56   Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:43 am GMT
<At least here, if one is trying to be explicitly polite, it is far more likely that "could" or "may" would be used than "can". While I myself tend towards using "could" except when trying to very polite, I very frequently hear "may" being used by others in commonplace situations like sales transactions and like, especially by individuals older than myself. <

That's odd, the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English says this about "may":

For permission, "can" is used 1,500 times more per. million words than "may" is.
Travis   Fri Jan 27, 2006 10:05 am GMT
>>That's odd, the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English says this about "may":

For permission, "can" is used 1,500 times more per. million words than "may" is.<<

Might you consider that frequency of such usages vary from dialect to dialect, and that there may also be regional cultural features which would affect the usage of such words in such cases? At least here in Wisconsin, sales transactions (even if they involve acquaintances) and other similar sorts of interactions between strangers or like tend to be very polite and quite formal affairs, usually involving degrees of politeness and formality far greater than those that one would normally use when interacting with friends, family, and even coworkers. Such includes both things like the commonplace use of "may" and "could" instead of "can", and formal greetings such as "have a good day" instead of the usual "see ya". In such circumstances, to use "can" for requests would somewhat rude here, and to use the imperative for requests would very rude.

Of course, apparently there is not nearly as much formal social protocol pertaining to such cases in many other areas of the US outside of the Upper Midwest. Consequently, it is not surprising that "can" would be far more frequent than "may" in such cases in many other areas of at least the US, even though I do not know what dialects were used as the basis of that statement in the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.
Candy   Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:25 am GMT
<<"Mayn't" is used by the British, I think. >>

No, it isn't. I've never heard it. Maybe it was used in the past, but it sounds incredibly awkward nowadays.
Larissa   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:50 pm GMT
Is that true that "may" is more used by the British than by the Americans?
And is that true that a British person would use "may" where an American would use "can"?
Thank you
Candy   Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:11 pm GMT
<<Is that true that "may" is more used by the British than by the Americans?>>

I don't think so, Larissa. I use both of them, depending how polite I want to be. To family and friends, I probably wouldn't say 'may', but only 'can'. 'Could' is more polite than 'can', then 'may' is the most polite.