At any point in history was "Why cannot...?" used as frequently as "Why can't...?" Is it even grammatically correct to say "Why cannot you do this?" I know it can be rearranged to be "Why can you not do this?," but I always presumed the contraction and the contracted phrase could be used equivalently, without changing the sentence structure. I think this pattern holds true with the other question words (e.g. how, when, etc.); however, I also know it is common to say "Who cannot do this?" In general, are there rules pertaining to the uses of contractions in questions?
Answer
The transition point was about a century ago
Note that if we substitute a pronoun (I, he, they) for "why", the transition point comes much later (1980 for "I") – or hasn't even happened yet (all other pronouns). I can't explain why that is, except by pointing out that this very sentence is an increasingly typical usage. Maybe we all tend to be a bit less formal when introducing our own selves into the text.
It's only my opinion, but I think can't (similarly, let's) are examples of grammaticalisation. The contracted form has effectively taken on a "life of its own", leading to a situation where OP is prepared to accept that there may be contexts where can't is "grammatical", but "cannot" (or the equivalent "can not") wouldn't be valid.
Using cannot / can not might be a bit stilted in many contexts now we're so used to seeing the contracted form, but I don't think it's ever ungrammatical.
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