Re: Why grammar is so complex a subject

--- R A Brown <ray@...> wrote:

<snip>

>
> But I am now confused. You wrote on the 27th Dec.:
> "It's because it
> [grammar] is an artificial attempt to discover
> "rules" in what is really
> a monstrous collection of exceptions. There ARE no
> rules; only
> exceptions!"
>
> Now two days later you write: '"rules" DO exist!'
>
> Sorry, but to my simple mind "There ARE no rules"
> and "rules do exist"
> appear to be contradictory statements.
Of course they are! I'm a hobbiest, not a
professional. I have no academic reputation to uphold
and no need to be the least bit consistent. I am,
therefore, free to say any ridiculous thing I choose,
and to contradict myself a day later. For me
conlanging is strictly for fun, and I have fun with
it. And I don't really take any of it very seriously.
It's a lingusitic game that I enjoy playing. Please
don't hold me to academic standards or you'll take all
the fun out of it for me.

But just for the record, I will try to remember to
preface my posts with a disclaimer to the effect that
whatever I post is today's half-baked theory or
hypothetical speculation which I suspect I will either
contradict or forget all about by this time next week.

--gary