This study examines linguistic form and communication style in working-class and middle-class black preachers of two types: those who are not seminary trained, who preach spontaneously, and those who are seminary trained, who read from a prepared text. Ten sermons were tape-recorded in natural settings at two churches in Washington, D.C. Analyses…

This study investigated the linguistic characteristics of speech addressed to the child and the features of the verbal environment critical for learning language. The study focused on the prosodic and paralinguistic features of adult speech to the young child. Adult speech directed to children was compared to other kinds of systematic speech…