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to prepare health promotion materials. REALM is a pronunciation test of 66 medical terms, which is scored according to "dictionarypronunciation." I investigate how linguistic variation affects REALM scores by analyzing the tests of 62 individuals and comparingtheir scores with their use of these terms in taped interactions with physicians. I then discuss how the linguistic community can workwith the medical community in addressing issues of health literacy and health communication.Susan Tamasi (Emory University) Session 58Erica Dotson (Emory University)Using classroom technology to teach linguistic diversityWe demonstrate how classroom technologies, such as Blackboard, can be used to develop an interactive learning experience forteaching about linguistic diversity. For our case study, content, readings, and assignments are organized around a cohesive theme--aUS map--in order to provide students with visual, aural, and textual information regarding American dialects and linguistic issues inthe US. Through the use of virtual space in a dynamic environment, students are able to discuss, question, analyze, and identify newconcepts and theories. We also discuss issues regarding copyright law that are associated with creating an interactive course.Marie-Lucie Tarpent (Mount Saint Vincent University) Session 101The Alsea l ~ k' alternation & its implications for Penutian lexical-phonological comparisonThe Alsea language (Coastal Oregon) was placed by Sapir in his Penutian phylum, but some of its morphology reflects strongSalishan influence. However, Alsea has a CVC or CVCVC stem core subject to ablaut, consonant gradation and reduplication, as doother Penutian languages. The search for cognates is complicated by the frequent occurrence of clusters in some languages,corresponding to full roots in others, and some unitary segments can be traced to former clusters. Thus in Alsea, the morphophonemicalternation in some verb forms can be traced to plain and glottalized versions of a *TK cluster.Mila Tasseva-Kurktchieva (University of South Carolina) Session 27L2 production before comprehension: Morphosyntax vs semantics-pragmaticsI focus on the relationship between comprehension and production in the process of L2 acquisition. For many years SLA research hastaken for granted that comprehension (competence) precedes production (performance) in language development. I draw on data onthe acquisition of Bulgarian by adult native speakers of English and show: (1) Production and comprehension are processes governedby the same interlanguage (IL) grammar, but they can take separate paths. (2) The development of comprehension skills is related tothe semantic-pragmatic module while development of production skills is rooted in the morphosyntactic module of grammar.Graciela Tesan (Macquarie University) Session 15Rosalind Thornton (Macquarie University)Revisiting sentential negation in English-speaking childrenWe report on a new study of sentential negation in four English-speaking children. Our data support Klima and Bellugi's (1966)original observation that several non-adult stages can be identified. The critical finding was that three of the four 2-year-olds passedthrough a stage of producing utterances like Mary not likes cheese before reaching the target grammar. We conclude, contrary toHarris and Wexler 1996, that these children have not correctly categorized negation as a head at this point. We compare this stagewith other Germanic languages and conclude that children's hypotheses are UG compatible.Margaret Thomas (Boston College) Session 80The evergreen story of Psammetichus' inquiryThe pharaoh Psammetichus (664-610 BCE) isolated two newborn children, cared for by a goatherd who never spoke. When thechildren's first word was reported to be bekos, Phrygian for 'bread,' Psammetichus conceded that Phrygians, not Egyptians, were theoldest people. Re-told by Herodotus, this story has shaped western reflection on language ever since--in 16th-centuryconceptualization of the first human language; in 19th-century debate about the origin of language; and in modern discussion oflanguage acquisition. Enlarging on the third such environment, I analyze how Psammetichus' inquiry is employed to make the pastseem both inappropriately familiar (therefore less threatening), and inappropriately strange (therefore less valuable).Tim Thornes (University of Oregon) Session 16Causation as ‘functional sink’ in Northern PaiuteNorthern Paiute (Numic; Uto-Aztecan) has developed morphological causatives from two distinct source constructions whose167