BBC - Americanisms: 50 of your most noted examples

Scone as in gone or scone as in own?     See, we can't even decide ourselves how things are pronounced, not sure why we are having a go at Americans for it!

I pronounce scone to rhyme with own, and vase to rhyme with craze.  I've head Brits tell me that is very 'posh'.  No, not from me it isn't!  It's very Philadelphia, and if anyone in Philly pronounced them as scone like gone and vase to rhyme with oz, that would sound *very* posh indeed where I come from!

If enough people use "may" to mean "to be able" and "can" to  mean "to have permission", then that is what they will  mean.

That is how languages work.

Languages evolve.

They are not created by dictionary writers and English teachers. They are created by the people who use them.

I agree that languages evolve, but not all changes are evolution, and it does seem a shame if useful distinctions and nuances are lost. Also (at least when I was a kid) one of the roles of a teacher was to give guidance on manners and politeness. This is where I was coming from with this.