--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That mainstream English is essential to…" description: "\"That mainstream English is essential to our self-preservation is indisputable . . . but it is not necessary to abandon Spoken Soul to master Standard E..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/john-r-rickford-249600_abandon_that-mainstream-english-is-essential-to_2016778.png" --- # That mainstream English is essential to our… ![“That mainstream English is essential to our self-preservation is indisputable . . . but it is not necessary to abandon Spoken Soul to master Standard English, any more than it is necessary to abandon English to learn French or to deprecate jazz to appreciate classical music.” quote by John R. Rickford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/john-r-rickford-249600_abandon_that-mainstream-english-is-essential-to_2016778.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/john-r-rickford-249600_abandon_that-mainstream-english-is-essential-to_2016778.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/john-r-rickford-249600_abandon_that-mainstream-english-is-essential-to_2016778.png) > “That mainstream English is essential to our self-preservation is indisputable . . . but it is not necessary to abandon Spoken Soul to master Standard English, any more than it is necessary to abandon English to learn French or to deprecate jazz to appreciate classical music.” [John R. Rickford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-rickford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing standard language use with cultural identity is possible without abandoning either. **In simple terms:** You can learn standard English while keeping your cultural voice. Key Takeaway Embrace both standard and spoken forms. Themes language culture identity preservation bilingualism Mood reflective hopeful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - education - media representation - personal communication Key Concepts sociolinguistics code‑switching cultural resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions support linguistic diversity? - What benefits arise from preserving spoken heritage? A Different Perspective Some may view standard language as superior, creating pressure to conform. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Abandon English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon-english-3630988/) [Abandon Spoken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon-spoken-3630991/) [Appreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciate/) [Classical music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical-music/) [English Essential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-essential-1161966/) [English Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-necessary-3630989/) [Essentials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essentials/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Mainstream English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream-english-3630990/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-preservation/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Standard english](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standard-english/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) ## Related quotes > [English is necessary as at present original works of science are in English. I believe that in two decades times original works of science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-is-necessary-as-at-present-original-works-of-science-are-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe it is essential to have English as the official language of our National Government, for the English language is the tie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/i-believe-it-is-essential-to-have-english-as-the-official-language-of/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [If we are serious about enabling those who want to acquire what we have called standard English then first we should be honest about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/if-we-are-serious-about-enabling-those-who-want-to-acquire-what-we/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [I tried to write 'Trainspotting' in standard English, but people weren't talking like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-tried-to-write-trainspotting-in-standard-english-but-people-weren-t/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Translation rewrites a foreign text in terms that are intelligible and interesting to readers in the receiving culture. 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It's also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/a-lot-of-time-i-d-spell-things-in-standard-english-instead-of/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [Because of the way our society is structures, using sentences such as "I don't it" can put people at a disadvantage. And this is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-burridge/because-of-the-way-our-society-is-structures-using-sentences-such-as/) [Kate Burridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-burridge/) > [“The range and variety of Chaucer's English did much to establish English as a national language. Chaucer also contributed much to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/the-range-and-variety-of-chaucer-s-english-did-much-to-establish/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [I make the case in the book that Standard English, that language we all aspire to live and move and have our being within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/i-make-the-case-in-the-book-that-standard-english-that-language-we/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [You could imagine a language exactly like English except it doesn't have connectives like 'and' that allow you to make longer expressions. An infant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-could-imagine-a-language-exactly-like-english-except-it-doesn-t/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“When we black people commit ourselves to living simply as a political action, as a way of breaking the stress caused by unrelenting hedonistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/when-we-black-people-commit-ourselves-to-living-simply-as-a-political/) [bell hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [People think of black English as ungrammatical, but it bears the same relationship to standard English as contemporary Hebrew does to ancient Hebrew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-think-of-black-english-as-ungrammatical-but-it-bears-the-same/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Standard English is a convenient abstraction, like the average man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leslie-brook/standard-english-is-a-convenient-abstraction-like-the-average-man/) [George Leslie Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leslie-brook/) > [I'm not very good at standard English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-m-not-very-good-at-standard-english/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. 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