This collection of articles derives from a conference organized in Szeged (Hungary) in 2003. It represents a contribution to the ongoing discussion on approaches to the grammar of spoken language. Proceeding on the conviction that existing theoretical deficits can only be offset by broad discussion of all potential sources of theoretical insight, the volume discusses various approaches to a more precise grammatical definition of spoken language, including construction grammar, interactional linguistics, the theory of proximate and distanced speech, and ideas on the constitution of meaning in spoken language.