This anthropological study examines whether sociocultural factors are basic to the etiology of stuttering through (1) an investigation of the incidence of stuttering in a single ethnic group, Puerto Rican rural migrants living in two different cultural milieus (San Juan and New York City), and (2) a comparison of the sociocultural variables in the lifeways of the migrants in the two cities. The study focuses on the validity of the theory that stuttering is a deviant linguistic response to sociocultural stress. A section on perspectives in stuttering provides an overview, a literature review, methodology, procedures, and statistical findings. A cultural-historical perspective of Puerto Rico covers topics such as the Spanish heritage and the North American overlay, rural subcultures in Puerto Rico, and the migrants in San Juan. A cultural-historical perspective of the United States likewise provides a discussion of the migrants in New York City, a comparison of the migrants in San Juan and in New York, contemporary American working-class values, and the American heritage. The final section discusses stuttering and stress. A series of inferences derived from the study are made, among them being the relation between dominant values of a culture and the prevalence or lack of stuttering, and the importance of cultural and socioeconomic factors. Suggestions for further research are made. (Author/AM)