That linguistics, L2 acquisition and speech pathology impinge on each other in areas of vital importance to each discipline seems to be almost undeniable. All three fields are concerned with the characterization of language in one form or another; and all deal with the acquisition of language by one segment of the population or another. But although these fields of inquiry share a general domain, the specific goals of the individual disciplines are distinct in that each approaches the problem of language description and acquisition from a different perspective. Each field has developed expertise in its respective area of the problem of language description and acquisition. It seems reasonable, then, that each field has something to contribute to, and something to gain from, the others. It is the goal of this volume to create a dialogue in this area that is both fruitful and ongoing.