God don't like ugly: The socialization of African American children in Sunday School at a Missionary Baptist church

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the language socialization processes that African American children undergo in Sunday school at a Black Missionary Baptist church in Northern California. As used here, language socialization refers to the processes through which children learn to use language and acquire the knowledge and skill they need to participate and communicate competently with adults as well as with other children in the church community. Competence refers to the children's ability to communicate in ways that correspond with adult expectations and the social and linguistic norms of the church community. The focal participants in this study were the Sunday school students, ages nine to twelve, their Sunday school teachers, and the pastor of the church.; This dissertation systematically analyzes patterns of language use and social interaction among adults and children in the Sunday school and the wider church setting.; To illuminate the communicative behavior, norms, and expectations that govern the church community, the structure and organization of situated communicative events that occur in Sunday school, congregational worship activities, rituals, and extra-congregational social situations are described.; This dissertation also explores the ways in which adult members of the church, particularly Sunday school teachers, use language and varying styles of interaction with the children to nurture their social and linguistic competence as members of the church community. The findings reveal that adult members of the church teach children what they need to know to be successful members through an interactive framework of scholarship (explicit instruction), stewardship (guided-practice), and fellowship (practice alongside adults), which conjointly provide the necessary base for communicative competence.