Do you have the "loadkeys" command on your system? I remember about 2 years ago, when I installed Slackware 8.0, I couldn't compile a Speakup kernel for the life of me. I finally figured out that by not installing the keymaps package with the loadkeys command, I had shot myself in the foot in terms of compiling that kernel. I didn't think I needed it since it talks about non-US keyboards. It turned out that it is essential. So, make sure that you have it and try again.
