Can I get a coffee, Please?

The last year or so has seen a proliferation of the use of 'Can I get' instead of 'Can I have' and frankly it drives me mad. I'm not really sure where it has come from though I'm tempted to say that it falls into the Americanism's category. It is almost exclusively use by younger members of society and I've rarely, if ever heard it used by any anyone in Britain over the age of 50.

‘Can I get some more paper?’
‘Yes, it’s on the table over there – help yourself.’
 
This would be an unremarkable question and answer pattern but the colleague who was asked this question by several native speakers of British English recently was the invigilator of an exam and certainly did not give that response! The expectation of ‘going and getting’ some more paper cannot have been in the students’ or the invigilator’s mind.

So what the students meant was: ‘Can I have some more paper?’ (I’d like to be given some more paper).

This use of ‘Can I get’ for ‘Can I have’ has become increasingly common in the younger age groups of British English speakers. I first remember noticing it in the late 1990s, when the Friends effect was strong in the UK. Now you will often hear someone asking ‘Can I get a coffee?’ or ‘Can I get an egg sandwich?’ at a takeaway counter. It is, of course, common in American English.

Both the UK and US versions of the Macmillan English Dictionary record the ‘Can I have’ formula for requests, giving it the specific context of polite requests for food and drink. They also both record the ‘go and bring back’ sense of ‘get’. But, in common with the most recently published ELT dictionaries, neither appears to show that ‘get’ is being used in requests for something to be given, in British English as well as American English.

To get
[transitive] [never passive] to obtain, receive, or be given something

Ross's father got a new job.

Did you get tickets for the game?

I got a fine for reckless driving.

You get ten points for each correct answer.

get something from someone:

She got a ring from her grandmother.

get someone something/get something for someone:

The social worker got the family a new flat and clothes for the children.

get an answer/reply etc:

She called out to him but got no reply.

get the chance/opportunity:

Young players will get the chance to meet one of their heroes.

get permission/approval etc:

We got permission from the council to start building.

to obtain, receive, or be given something

Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

To get something or someone: get, come by, accept, obtain, gain, derive, get together, bring, find... more

1. a. to buy something
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To buy something: buy, get, purchase, invest in, buy up, import, place, get in, splash out, buy into... more
2.  b. to go and bring something back from somewhere else
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To go somewhere and get something or someone: get, pick up, call for, go for, collect, fetch... more
3. c. to earn or receive an amount of money
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To earn a particular amount of money: generate, get, get back, gross, net, realize, get together, turn over, make, draw... more
4. d. to obtain information
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To find out information: find out, read up on, hear of, discover, find, read, collect, get... more
5. e. to start to have an idea or feeling
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To form an opinion, or to have an idea: measure, come up with, judge, infer, appraise, conceive, hit on, sum up, conceptualize, draw a conclusion/an inference... more
6. f. to start to have an illness or medical condition
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To have or develop an illness or symptom: suffer, get, contract, come down with, develop, catch, have, afflict, go down with, swim... more
7. g. to obtain a benefit or have a positive feeling when you do something
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To enjoy something, or to enjoy yourself: like, enjoy, go in for, delight in, savour, revel in, love, have your fun, take/find pleasure in (doing) something, go out... more
8. h. to obtain a particular result
   

   Synonyms or related words for this sense of get

   To involve, or to be the result of something: result, follow, come out of, ensue, flow from, culminate in, end in, turn out, grow out of, add up to... more

Have can be used in the following ways:

as an auxiliary verb in perfect tenses of verbs (followed by a past participle): We have lived here for 20 years. ♦ Who's eaten all the grapes? (used without a following past participle): Ellen hasn't finished, but I have. Questions, negatives, and question tags using the auxiliary verb have are formed without do: Has the meeting finished? ♦ You haven't eaten anything. ♦ The customers haven't complained, have they?

as a transitive verb used in descriptions and for talking about possession, relationships, or the state that someone or something is in: She has dark curly hair. ♦ He had two sisters. This use of have is never in progressive or passive forms. Have got is often used instead of have for these meanings, especially in spoken English and informal writing: Alan's got a new bike. Questions and negatives can be formed by using have got, have alone, or do: Have you got any money? ♦ Have you any money? ♦ Do you have any money? ♦ We haven't got any money. ♦ We haven't any money. ♦ We don't have any money. Question tags are formed with have when the main verb is have got: They've got a lovely garden, haven't they?

as a transitive verb used for talking about actions and experiences: Let's have a swim before lunch. ♦ I had a good time at the party. This use of have can sometimes be in the progressive but is almost never in the passive: She's having a baby. ♦ Are you having a drink? Have got is not used, and neither short forms of have nor weak forms of pronunciation are ever used in these meanings. Questions, negatives, and question tags are formed with do: Did you have a nice walk? ♦ I didn't have breakfast this morning. ♦ They had quite a bad accident, didn't they?

as a transitive verb (followed by an object and then a participle or infinitive without 'to'): How often do you have your hair cut? ♦ I'll have someone clean out your room. This use of have can be in the progressive: I'm having all the carpets cleaned. Questions, negatives, and question tags are formed with do: Did you have the engine checked?

as a verb used for talking about what is necessary (followed by a verb in the infinitive with 'to'): I had to wait for an hour. (followed by 'to' without a verb in the infinitive): We'll fight for our rights if we have to. This use of have can be in the progressive: I was having to work every weekend. Have got to is often used instead of have to, especially in spoken English and in informal writing: You've got to show your passport. Questions can be formed using do, have got, or have alone: Do we have to pay now? ♦ Have we got to pay now? ♦ Have we to pay now? Negative sentences are usually formed with do or have got: You don't have to pay yet. ♦ You haven't got to pay yet. Question tags are usually formed with do: We have to take a test, don't we?

The Speak Good English Movement

I came across this extraordinary campiagn on the internet and thought I would share it with you. It's the sort of campaign that we could well do with here in the UK. So let's see what they have to say and more importantly, how they say it. 

The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) is putting out ten "quick and simple tips" for Singaporeans to use to help improve their standard of English.

 

The movement said these "quick and simple" tips show that "taking a little step each day, whether it is reading a book or listening to the radio, can significantly help to improve our English proficiency".
With these tips, the Speak Good English Movement wants all Singaporeans to take action by actively seeking out the tools and resources that are available to improve their language proficiency.
Of these ten tips, three of them are -- to read on a regular basis, listen to the way people speak good English, and think before speaking.

Launched in 2000, the Speak Good English Movement is a nationwide movement to encourage Singaporeans to speak standard English that is universally understood. Standard English, it said, is English with correct grammar and pronunciation, and is not about accent.

This year, the movement is placing special emphasis on working adults aged 20 to 39 years old, with the message that enhancing their speaking and communication skills will serve them well at work.
Mr Goh Eck Kheng, chairman of the Speak Good English Movement, explains the rationale for this core target group. He said: "We can and should keep improving our standard of English, even after we have left school and are working. It is your choice if you want the advantage that English proficiency brings or be left behind."

The movement will be rolling out several initiatives and programmes for this target group.
What's the difference between using "fewer" and "lesser"? Can you actually use the word "revert" instead of "reply"?

If you have the answers, consider taking part in a quiz the Speak Good English Movement has designed and which will be online next Wednesday.

This year, the movement is also partnering a number of F&B outlets in its campaign.
Mr G Shanmugam, the owner of Gayatri Restaurant, said: "We help to promote 'Speak Good English', though we don't need people to speak Oxford English but basic good English will be very useful to Singapore. And, it is not only for our Singaporeans, but we also need our service staff - most of them mainland Chinese, Indians from India, (Filipinos from) the Philippines - to speak good English because if they don't, we will have a lot of problems."

Ms Grace Lau, assistant marketing manager of Ya Kun International, said: "Our staff at Ya Kun tend to be slightly older in their ages. They grew up with the Mandarin language and their dialects.
"It's a challenge to get them to speak English because of the fear of a new language. We have simple training for them. We would also love to have customers to speak to them in English, give them a bit of challenge, and through this, I hope that our staff will have the opportunity to express themselves in English more and to take up this chance to practise what they've learned about basic English."

Here are 5 top tips to get you going.

1. Don't study grammar too much

This rule might sound strange to many ESL students, but it is one of the most important rules. If you want to pass examinations, then study grammar. However, if you want to become fluent in English, then you should try to learn English without studying the grammar.

Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think about the rules when creating sentences instead of naturally saying a sentence like a native. Remember that only a small fraction of English speakers know more than 20% of all the grammar rules. Many ESL students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say this with experience. I am a native English speaker, majored in English Literature, and have been teaching English for more than 10 years. However, many of my students know more details about English grammar than I do. I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I don't know it off the top of my head.

I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a few of them know the correct answer. However, they are fluent in English and can read, speak, listen, and communicate effectively.

Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do you want to be able to speak English fluently?

2. Learn and study phrases

Many students learn vocabulary and try to put many words together to create a proper sentence. It amazes me how many words some of my students know, but they cannot create a proper sentence. The reason is because they didn't study phrases. When children learn a language, they learn both words and phrases together. Likewise, you need to study and learn phrases.

If you know 1000 words, you might not be able to say one correct sentence. But if you know 1 phrase, you can make hundreds of correct sentences. If you know 100 phrases, you will be surprised at how many correct sentences you will be able to say. Finally, when you know only a 1000 phrases, you will be almost a fluent English speaker.

The English Speaking Basics section is a great example of making numerous sentences with a single phrase. So don't spend hours and hours learning many different words. Use that time to study phrases instead and you will be closer to English fluency.

Don't translate

When you want to create an English sentence, do not translate the words from your Mother tongue. The order of words is probably completely different and you will be both slow and incorrect by doing this. Instead, learn phrases and sentences so you don't have to think about the words you are saying. It should be automatic.

Another problem with translating is that you will be trying to incorporate grammar rules that you have learned. Translating and thinking about the grammar to create English sentences is incorrect and should be avoided.

3. Reading and Listening is NOT enough. Practice Speaking what you hear!

Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any language. The same is true for English. However, speaking is the only requirement to be fluent. It is normal for babies and children to learn speaking first, become fluent, then start reading, then writing. So the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing.

First Problem
Isn't it strange that schools across the world teach reading first, then writing, then listening, and finally speaking? Although it is different, the main reason is because when you learn a second language, you need to read material to understand and learn it. So even though the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing, the order for ESL students is reading, listening, speaking, then writing.

Second Problem
The reason many people can read and listen is because that's all they practice. But in order to speak English fluently, you need to practice speaking. Don't stop at the listening portion, and when you study, don't just listen. Speak out loud the material you are listening to and practice what you hear. Practice speaking out loud until your mouth and brain can do it without any effort. By doing so, you will be able to speak English fluently.

4. Submerge yourself

Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are. Anyone can learn how to speak any language. This is a proven fact by everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least one language. Whether you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power, you are able to speak one language.

This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your country, you hear and speak your language constantly. You will notice that many people who are good English speakers are the ones who studied in an English speaking school. They can speak English not because they went to an English speaking school, but because they had an environment where they can be around English speaking people constantly.

There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is because they went to an English speaking school, but found friends from their own country and didn't practice English.

You don't have to go anywhere to become a fluent English speaker. You only need to surround yourself with English. You can do this by making rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. You can also carry around an iPod and constantly listen to English sentences. As you can see, you can achieve results by changing what your surroundings are. Submerge yourself in English and you will learn several times faster.

TalkEnglish Offline Version is now ready for download. In this package, you can utilize over 8000 audio files to completely surround yourself in English. There are over 13.5 hours of audio files that are not available in the web form. All conversations and all sentences are included, so even if you don't have many English speaking friends, you can constantly surround yourself in English using your MP3 player. This package is available at the English Download page. Take advantage of this opportunity and start learning English faster. Click on the link or go to http://www.talkenglish.com/english-download.aspx.

5. Study correct material

A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far from the truth. Practice only makes what you are practicing permanent. If you practice the incorrect sentence, you will have perfected saying the sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it is important that you study material that is commonly used by most people.

Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the language they speak is more formal and the content they use is more political and not used in regular life. It is important to understand what they are saying, but this is more of an advanced lesson that should be studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.

Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both good and bad. You should be aware of the pros and cons of speaking with a non native speaking friend. Practicing with a non native person will give you practice. You can also motivate each other and point out basic mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not sure about what are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these practice times as a time period to practice the correct material you studied. Not to learn how to say a sentence.

In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used, and that is correct.For a more comprehensive study course try the English Survival Kit - click link.