Can I get a ........

[nirvana]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

Ok these were pretty annoying.

Equally when I hear the word douche or anybody say UTG instead of under the gun in real life I die a little bit.

The weird thing is I lived in the US for a year a while back, and picked up the lingo over there as it saves repeating yourself all the time if you do. When I go there now I slip straight back into it, but hate it with a passion over here.

Excellent, I do this too - " May I have a glass of water ?" and they look at you like you are a brand new species. " Could I get a watter ? " and they're brill

[Woodsey]

And the worst Americanism of all.........the word 'like'

'We were like having an awesome time'

Now that one tilts the shit outta me 

[cambridgealex]

can i grab a...? i often hear. that's weird.

couldnt careless personally.

though i do hate ppl saying "Math" and other such BLATENT americanisms.

Can I get is fine imo.

[cambridgealex]

"Turn that off already"

is just as bad as MATH imo

[Jon MW]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

...

I saw that BBC article when it came out - couldn't help noticing that a lot of the 'Americanisms' that annoyed people in the comments didn't come from America.

Which nicely illustrated why English being infected by American is a lot less of a concern to me than the sheer amount of stupid people around is.

I agree with Red Dog about the 'get' / 'have' paradigm. I wouldn't say get, but that doesn't make it objectively less accurate than have.
"Please will you sell me a Vodka Red Bull ?" - might be.

Math is obviously just wrong.

[Woodsey]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14201796

...

I saw that BBC article when it came out - couldn't help noticing that a lot of the 'Americanisms' that annoyed people in the comments didn't come from America.

Which nicely illustrated why English being infected by American is a lot less of a concern to me than the sheer amount of stupid people around is.

I agree with Red Dog about the 'get' / 'have' paradigm. I wouldn't say get, but that doesn't make it objectively less accurate than have.
"Please will you sell me a Vodka Red Bull ?" - might be.

Math is obviously just wrong.

Yes but just because something isn't a precise description of something doesn't mean it isn't correct English.

[gatso]

How is it wrong for me to ask if I can get a beer when the very reason for me going to the bar is to get a beer?

[Woodsey]

How is it wrong for me to ask if I can get a beer when the very reason for me going to the bar is to get a beer?

It's not wrong if you don't mind asking in American English 

[nirvana]

How is it wrong for me to ask if I can get a beer when the very reason for me going to the bar is to get a beer?

Cause you know the answer. If you asked it in a shoe shop it would be a weird but understandable question.

[chatban]

How is it wrong for me to ask if I can get a beer when the very reason for me going to the bar is to get a beer?

Cause you know the answer. If you asked it in a shoe shop it would be a weird but understandable question.

'may i have a beer please?' is just as obvious but very English

two issues ITT

[tikay]

"Cause.......", Glenda?

[nirvana]

"Cause.......", Glenda?

Sorry

[MANTIS01]

There are a number of complications to consider. For example, if the barman asks "What can I get you?" he initiates the linguistic faux pas and you are invited into his dark world of Americanisms. So if you respond with "Can you get me a beer?" I'm not sure how incorrect that actually is. Also you could be asking for that beer in TGI Friday's and so not sure whether American inspired terminology is acceptable in an American inspired bar. I think the best strategy is to just go to the bar and say "beer please". This is a particularly good method because you can insert any drink of your choice before the word please and it still works.

[nirvana]

There are a number of complications to consider. For example, if the barman asks "What can I get you?" he initiates the linguistic faux pas and you are invited into his dark world of Americanisms. So if you respond with "Can you get me a beer?" I'm not sure how incorrect that actually is. Also you could be asking for that beer in TGI Friday's and so not sure whether American inspired terminology is acceptable in an American inspired bar. I think the best strategy is to just go to the bar and say "beer please". This is a particularly good method because you can insert any drink of your choice before the word please and it still works.

I think it's OK for the barman to ask this because he can, in fact, get you a beer. Like I say, I've thought about this a great deal.

I am OK with people saying, "could you get me a Carling Black Label please" since it's polite, a realistic expectation and you do indeed actually want him to get/bring you a beer.  This is the antithesis of "could I (me me me) get a beer" - probably with a rising inflection.

My preference, much like you suggest, is not to pad the conversation unnecessarily in an attempt to appear that I am somehow cool, just blown in from a meeting on a transatlantic flight.

"A pint of Guiness please"

"For a main I'd like the 12 Bird roast please"

Quite sufficient

[Girgy85]

Can i get a whoop whoop?