alien to

Regardless of the preposition, nobody speaks like that. @native

> nobody speaks like that

A logically astounding assertion. Does no-one say, "in one fell swoop"? Did anyone say it before Shakespeare? Is English alien to novel utterance?

My thanks go to CK, who, instead of being so logically astounded, gave some sensible alternatives to a very unnatural sentence.

I read "a very unnatural sentence" as equivalent to "nobody speaks like that." Repeating your thesis does not advance your argument. The problem here is epistemological: how could you possibly know what you assert to be true?

Impressions of unnaturalness, awkwardness, stiltedness, affectation, ponderousness, etc. are valuable observations. Personal preferences in a variety of linguistic dimensions are also valuable. Unsupportable blanket assertions are less so.

As CK has found a credible example of the original usage, it should indeed be reverted.

(Should we construct "foreign from" on the same pattern?)