This book presents a study of speech, language, and behavior as related in the field of psycholinguistics. It confines itself to a limited number of topics which are treated in some depth. The first part of the book deals with theoretical foundations--discussing speech and language in terms of role, nature, semantic dimension, and pragmatic dimension. There are chapters on linguistic, learning, and communication theories. The second part deals with speech and language behavior in several areas of psycholinguistics. The chapters concern speech and language acquisition, breakdown (aphasia and stuttering), differences, and effects. These areas involve developmental, pathological, differential, and rhetorical psycholinguistics. A bibliography is provided. Diagrams and tables illustrate theories where appropriate. (VM)