Originally published in 1979, this book presents an interdisciplinary study of the role of social markers in speech. Each chapter explores the nature and functioning of speech markers from a different social, biological or psychological perspective, and the volume offers a systematic survey of facts and ideas concerning the remarkable wealth of information that speech can convey. The final chapter is an attempt to view the subject from an integrated perspective and to develop a vocabulary and foundation for the development of interdisciplinary research. The volume will be of value to anyone with an interest in the general areas of language and communication, whether as anthropologists, linguists, ethologists, sociologists or psychologists.