pray tell, have all the rules of grammar been swept away….?[rant]
Earth calling, Earth calling. Wake up, girl, wherever you’ve been the last 140 years, cause you gotta hear the news – not only have “the rules” been swept away, but also so have
their basic validity as a linguistic concept. It is now widely taken for granted that like all other meta-language, linguistic constructions such as ‘grammar’ are post-facto creations of the human mind – they are descriptions, models, attempts to find the patterns in
what is, not some frumpy schoolmarm-ish code of what
must be. Descriptions of how particular speech communities use their variety of language – yes. Guidance notes as to what may therefore be preferable to fit certain social norms – sometimes. Rules –
never.
So sorry, as you seen to have an insecure craving for The TRUTH – but RealLife™ is more complicated.
As for your assertion that
It may sound awkward, but so what, if it's correct? – I can be bothered to raise nothing more grand than a big fat raspberry.
If you cannot hear the natural euphony of a language, you are failing to even get to first base. And hence your ability to turn the famous Winston Churchill quote through 180° of meaning - no dabbling in the box of coloured crayons can recompense for that.
[/rant]
