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The grammaticality of “that don't impress me much”

In Gadsby, which is almost grammatically not wrong at all, occurs just a solitary construction that I thought was awkward. It is said that "... folks today who claim that 'a child don't know anything.'" "No child knows anything" could own its position, as it is grammatically right, and contains not that symbol that Gadsby's author is trying to avoid.

Could I obtain a justification for this display of grammatical inaccuracy? Is it a willful play on grammar?

For additional information, Gadsby is a lipogram, by Mr. Wright. You can flip through it at this link.

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notablytipsy
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    Congrats on making your full post without that missing symbol. I'll avoid it in this location also, and I'm voting you up for such mindful wording. – J.R. Jul 29 '12 at 09:33
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  • 1 from me too for the same reason. You may also be familiar with Georges Perec's 'La Disparition', which observes the same constraint. It was translated into English as 'A Void' by Gilbert Adair.
    • – Barrie England Jul 29 '12 at 11:05
  • Yes, I had heard of 'La Disparition'. I didn't know it was translated. But a lipogram translated into a lipogram is really something... And thank you. It took quite some time and makes you realize how hard it must be to write an entire book like that. And JR, your wording is even better. It sounds more natural, mine sounds very very stilted. – notablytipsy Jul 29 '12 at 11:22
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    In Gadsby, "a child don't know anything" is in quotation marks, and so is a quotation, possibly from a person who speaks in a non-standard idiom. – Peter Shor Jul 29 '12 at 13:25
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    Related: the grammaticality of “that don't impress me much” and the many questions linked from there (“My love don't cost a thing”, ”She’s got a ticket to ride, but she don’t care”, “She don't care about me”...). In fact, the accepted answer to the last one is almost identical to the accepted answer here. – RegDwigнt Jul 29 '12 at 15:04
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    Ah, I didn't see those. I think the answer of the first one is closest to what I was looking for - while Gadsby is based in a fictional city, it probably might be situated in Southern USA, and he was bringing that to light... – notablytipsy Jul 29 '12 at 15:08
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    Your posting is wondrous, and this forum would languish if any inquiry such as this might undergo closing. I will not cast a ballot for shutting it, and pray all of you not do so also. – Mark Beadles Jul 29 '12 at 17:27
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    Nice :) It's not really a repeat. The other questions are about the grammatical correctness of the sentence, mine is asking for a reason an incorrect sentence is used when a correct one may be used instead. I felt there might be a cultural aspect to it – notablytipsy Jul 29 '12 at 17:36
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    Well written answer! Those of you interested in the deliberate omission of vowels might enjoy Eunoia by Christian Bok (in which each of the five chapters is written using only one vowel). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunoia_%28book%29 – JAM Jul 30 '12 at 02:38
  • @JAM Well, I've read a few pages... Does it have a story? It didn't seem like it so far. Gadsby actually has an excellent storyline and describes the transformation of a stagnant city into a utopia. And each chapter is very small. It's still an achievement, using only one vowel, but I was more impressed with Gadsby. – notablytipsy Jul 30 '12 at 07:44
  • Ella Minnow Pea: a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable by Mark Dunn. Has an actual plot. – Mitch Jul 30 '12 at 12:42
  • @asymptotically - well, I didn't say it was an easy read! I think it's an intriguing idea but comes across way too stilted. But I'm glad to know about Gadsby which I'll add to my reading list. – JAM Jul 30 '12 at 14:12