Page 36 - The Parish News May 2019

YOUR WILTSHIRE COUNCILLOR
A MESSAGE FrOM rIchArD GAMBLE
Wiltshire Councillor for
The lavingtons & Erlestoke Division
You may contact me about this or any other matter by email to richard.gamble@wiltshire.gov.uk or by phone
on 07762 018 209
Welcome to my Message for May! Actually, I have been asked not to write about May, but that may be a misunderstanding.
Correct use of language is, of course, important. If a stranger says “I can drive your car”, that could be a simple statement of their ability. On the other hand, if the person says “I may drive your car”, it would be a matter for concern.
Similarly, a child may ask “Can I eat five bars of chocolate?”. The answer may be “Maybe” (but it would be wise to add “You’d probably be sick!”). However, if the child asks “May I eat five bars of chocolate?” the answer, of course, is “No!”.
Thus, strictly speaking, cAN is an auxiliary verb that is used to express mental and physical capability. MAY is an auxiliary verb that is used to express permission.
However, the sharp distinction between the use of “can” and “may” has eroded due to the English language’s seeming evolution toward informality. Today, a child might ask a teacher, “May I have an apple?” as the child is asking a superior. The child might ask another child, “Can I have an apple?” as he is speaking to a peer.
And, in that phrase, there is another linguistic anomaly – the word p E E r . ‘Peers of the Realm’ are members of the House of Lords and are thus our (nominal) superiors. Our ‘peer group’, however, are people of approximately the same age, status and interests and are thus our equals. It’s all rather confusing for me (which could also be said, linguistically speaking, of the name of ‘Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition’).
If that’s not enough contradiction, May Day is also International Labour Day – but it is a holiday – so you are not supposed to work!
Finally, I should mention that the word ‘can’ can also refer to a metal container, (as you probably know). Apparently, in these times, a can is mainly used for kicking down the road.
34 THE NEWS MAY 2019 www.thenewseec@gmail.com