'I Would Like To' And 'I Should Like To'?

See some of the threads here:

http://www.EnglishForward.com/search/would like should like.htm

and you'll find threads such as:

Would like to / Should like to
Would like to / Should like to

The use of 'I should like' instead of 'I would like' is formal and/or traditional. The phrase would/should like to/object is used to say that you want or desire something and it sounds polite: I'd like the soup for my starter. I'd like to say a big thankyou to everyone who's helped to make our wedding such a special occasion! I should like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Dr. William Carry for the invitation to attend this ceremony that marks the happy occasion of CRY's 50th Anniversary.

The correct form is "would like". The term "should like" applies in the following circumstances: A small child does not like his vegetables, his mother says "You should like vegetables!" (because they are good for you, and your mother thinks that you aught to like them). It has a conotation of 'obligation', or an external constraint imposed on the person speaking. Saying "I should like..." feels like "I know that you/my mother/this group/soceity think that it is correct that I .... (should)" -- a sense of obligation, of forcing.
If you use 'I should like" in your sentences, to every native English speaker, that sentence construction screams "NOT NATIVE-ENGLISH SPEAKER". Here, 'would' conotates a possibility, 'if the circumstance arises I will like', 'should' does not fulfill the same meaning!

You're only including the use of "should" in a sense of obligation. Either you've forgotten, or YOU're not a native english speaker, but "I should like to" is commonly used by the british for making polite requests or statements about what you prefer --> I should like to introduce you to...

Or used about a situation in the past when you said or knew what you would do or what would happen--> We realized that we should have to pay a large sum to the lawyers.

So before you claim "to every native English speaker", check your facts!

Wrong. 'Should' works exactly as 'would' does provided that the context is formal. For example, an academic thesis might begin with "I should like to thank my fellow academics...", which would be a formal/traditional way of stating "I would".

Anonymous 'Should' works exactly as 'would' does provided that the context is formal.l

That's not quite enough. It only works as would does if the subject is I or we. You cannot say he should like to thank his fellow academics...

CB

Thank you for setting that straight!

Thanks. Very helpful when trying to read Hobbit