first of all, i cannot reproduce the problem with 1.4.2-4 which has the patch. this fix was commited to the koffice svn already:

http://websvn.kde.org/branches/koffice/1.4/koffice/krita/core/kis_filter_registry.h?rev=473737&r1=418647&r2=473737
as you can see, all it does is to not include "kis_filter.h" because gcc 4.0.3 behaves unexpectedly if it were.

the gdb backtrace doesn't really help without debugging symbols. :)
have you tried running kword from a terminal? that should output loads of stuff in case of a crash. that output would be nth for me.

last but not least, are you using testing/koffice or extra/koffice? i assume your system is up to date.

Using testing/koffice. Here's the console output:

kword: ERROR: No language dictionaries for the language : en_US
kformula: WARNING: Font 'cmbx10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'cmex10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'cmmi10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'cmr10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'cmsy10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'msam10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'msbm10' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixeight' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixeleven' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixfifteen' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixfive' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixfour' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixfourteen' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixnine' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixone' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixseven' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixseventeen' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixsix' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixsixteen' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixten' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixthirteen' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixthree' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixtwelve' not found
kformula: WARNING: Font 'esstixtwo' not found
*** glibc detected *** kword: corrupted double-linked list: 0xb7f148b8 ***
======= Backtrace: =========
/lib/tls/libc.so.6[0xb7e5c233]
/lib/tls/libc.so.6[0xb7e5c37f]
/lib/tls/libc.so.6[0xb7e5cff4]
/lib/tls/libc.so.6(malloc+0x7f)[0xb7e5e5df]
/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6[0xb6868aed]
/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6(FT_Alloc+0x31)[0xb6868f71]
/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6[0xb686cf04]
/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6(FT_Open_Face+0x2d3)[0xb686da33]
/usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6(FT_New_Face+0x48)[0xb686e558]
/usr/lib/libXft.so.2[0xb68da794]
/usr/lib/libXft.so.2(XftFontOpenInfo+0xdb)[0xb68daf2b]
/usr/lib/libXft.so.2(XftFontOpenPattern+0x4a)[0xb68dc0ca]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3[0xb7675a03]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN13QFontDatabase8findFontEN5QFont6ScriptEPK12QFontPrivateRK8QFontDefi+0x2e0)[0xb767c3a0]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN12QFontPrivate4loadEN5QFont6ScriptE+0x48f)[0xb76027df]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZNK12QFontMetrics6ascentEv+0xcf)[0xb766a8ef]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZNK12QFontMetrics12strikeOutPosEv+0x1d)[0xb766a97d]
/opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3(_ZN8KFormula12ContextStyle5setupEv+0xd9)[0xb60eb1f9]
/opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3(_ZN8KFormula12ContextStyle4initEv+0x22)[0xb60ec342]
/opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3(_ZN8KFormula8Document16introduceWrapperEPNS_15DocumentWrapperE+0x40)[0xb611b440]
/opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3(_ZN8KFormula15DocumentWrapper8documentEPNS_8DocumentE+0x2f)[0xb611f20f]
/opt/kde/lib/kde3/libkwordpart.so(_ZN10KWDocument15formulaDocumentEv+0xc5)[0xb64ceaa5]
/opt/kde/lib/kde3/libkwordpart.so(_ZN8KWConfigC1EP6KWView+0x6bf)[0xb6550a9f]
/opt/kde/lib/kde3/libkwordpart.so(_ZN6KWView9configureEv+0x2f)[0xb64e397f]
/opt/kde/lib/kde3/libkwordpart.so(_ZN6KWView9qt_invokeEiP8QUObject+0x9bc)[0xb651b5fc]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QObject15activate_signalEP15QConnectionListP8QUObject+0x169)[0xb76b1579]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QObject15activate_signalEi+0x80)[0xb76b1a10]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeui.so.4(_ZN7KAction9activatedEv+0x29)[0xb6ce2189]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeui.so.4(_ZN7KAction13slotActivatedEv+0x51)[0xb6d1bd31]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeui.so.4(_ZN7KAction18slotPopupActivatedEv+0x15e)[0xb6d3ac6e]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeui.so.4(_ZN7KAction9qt_invokeEiP8QUObject+0x211)[0xb6d3af41]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QObject15activate_signalEP15QConnectionListP8QUObject+0x169)[0xb76b1579]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QSignal6signalERK8QVariant+0xa2)[0xb79eb922]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QSignal8activateEv+0x7b)[0xb76cdf1b]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN10QPopupMenu17mouseReleaseEventEP11QMouseEvent+0x4b8)[0xb77b6ff8]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeui.so.4(_ZN10KPopupMenu17mouseReleaseEventEP11QMouseEvent+0x51)[0xb6cef571]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN7QWidget5eventEP6QEvent+0x398)[0xb76eaf68]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN12QApplication14internalNotifyEP7QObjectP6QEvent+0xa1)[0xb7652791]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN12QApplication6notifyEP7QObjectP6QEvent+0x782)[0xb7653822]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdecore.so.4(_ZN12KApplication6notifyEP7QObjectP6QEvent+0x1ee)[0xb7c7ddae]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN9QETWidget19translateMouseEventEPK7_XEvent+0xc8a)[0xb75ee82a]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN12QApplication15x11ProcessEventEP7_XEvent+0x9a4)[0xb75ed0d4]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN10QEventLoop13processEventsEj+0x23a)[0xb7600c5a]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN10QEventLoop9enterLoopEv+0xa9)[0xb76692e9]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN10QEventLoop4execEv+0x26)[0xb76691e6]
/opt/qt/lib/libqt-mt.so.3(_ZN12QApplication4execEv+0x1f)[0xb76521af]
/opt/kde/lib/libkdeinit_kword.so(kdemain+0x87)[0xb7f2a027]
/lib/tls/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xdb)[0xb7e0cd6b]
kword(_init+0x79)[0x80483e1]
======= Memory map: ========
08048000-08049000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 219514 /opt/kde/bin/kword
08049000-0804a000 rw-p 00000000 03:01 219514 /opt/kde/bin/kword
0804a000-08466000 rw-p 0804a000 00:00 0 [heap]
b5b00000-b5b21000 rw-p b5b00000 00:00 0
b5b21000-b5c00000 ---p b5b21000 00:00 0
b5cb9000-b5cc8000 r--p 00000000 03:01 209200 /usr/share/fonts/TTF/VeraSe.ttf
b5cc8000-b5ccd000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 224353 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kofficescan.so
b5ccd000-b5cce000 rw-p 00005000 03:01 224353 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kofficescan.so
b5cce000-b5cdf000 r--p 00000000 03:01 209118 /usr/share/fonts/TTF/Vera.ttf
b5cdf000-b5ded000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 22063 /usr/lib/libxml2.so.2.6.22
b5ded000-b5df5000 rw-p 0010e000 03:01 22063 /usr/lib/libxml2.so.2.6.22
b5df5000-b5df6000 rw-p b5df5000 00:00 0
b5df6000-b5e27000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 22076 /usr/lib/libxslt.so.1.1.15
b5e27000-b5e28000 rw-p 00030000 03:01 22076 /usr/lib/libxslt.so.1.1.15
b5e28000-b5e31000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 8280 /lib/libnss_files-2.3.5.so
b5e31000-b5e33000 rw-p 00008000 03:01 8280 /lib/libnss_files-2.3.5.so
b5e33000-b5ea2000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 22350 /usr/lib/libmng.so.1.1.0.9
b5ea2000-b5ea3000 rw-p 0006e000 03:01 22350 /usr/lib/libmng.so.1.1.0.9
b5ea5000-b5eb4000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 224355 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/libxsltexport.so
b5eb4000-b5eb5000 rw-p 0000f000 03:01 224355 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/libxsltexport.so
b5eb5000-b5f2d000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 21926 /usr/lib/libGLU.so.1.3.060401
b5f2d000-b5f2e000 rw-p 00078000 03:01 21926 /usr/lib/libGLU.so.1.3.060401
b5f2e000-b5f4d000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 22023 /usr/lib/libjpeg.so.62.0.0
b5f4d000-b5f4e000 rw-p 0001e000 03:01 22023 /usr/lib/libjpeg.so.62.0.0
b5f52000-b5f5a000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 217634 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqpng.so
b5f5a000-b5f5b000 rw-p 00007000 03:01 217634 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqpng.so
b5f5b000-b5f5f000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 217633 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqmng.so
b5f5f000-b5f60000 rw-p 00003000 03:01 217633 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqmng.so
b5f60000-b5f65000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 217635 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqjpeg.so
b5f65000-b5f66000 rw-p 00005000 03:01 217635 /opt/qt/plugins/imageformats/libqjpeg.so
b5f66000-b5f72000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 221867 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kspell_ispell.so
b5f72000-b5f73000 rw-p 0000c000 03:01 221867 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kspell_ispell.so
b5f73000-b6024000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 22138 /usr/lib/libaspell.so.15.1.4
b6024000-b6028000 rw-p 000b0000 03:01 22138 /usr/lib/libaspell.so.15.1.4
b6028000-b602c000 rw-p b6028000 00:00 0
b602c000-b6031000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 221914 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kspell_aspell.so
b6031000-b6032000 rw-p 00004000 03:01 221914 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/kspell_aspell.so
b6032000-b6036000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 219565 /opt/kde/lib/libkwmailmerge_interface.so.4.0.0
b6036000-b6037000 rw-p 00003000 03:01 219565 /opt/kde/lib/libkwmailmerge_interface.so.4.0.0
b6037000-b608b000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 218067 /opt/kde/lib/libkutils.so.1.2.0
b608b000-b6090000 rw-p 00054000 03:01 218067 /opt/kde/lib/libkutils.so.1.2.0
b6090000-b60af000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 218080 /opt/kde/lib/libkspell2.so.1.0.0
b60af000-b60b1000 rw-p 0001f000 03:01 218080 /opt/kde/lib/libkspell2.so.1.0.0
b60b1000-b6148000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 219702 /opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3.0.0
b6148000-b6152000 rw-p 00097000 03:01 219702 /opt/kde/lib/libkformulalib.so.3.0.0
b6152000-b62fd000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 219696 /opt/kde/lib/libkotext.so.2.0.0
b62fd000-b630a000 rw-p 001aa000 03:01 219696 /opt/kde/lib/libkotext.so.2.0.0
b630a000-b63cf000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 219628 /opt/kde/lib/libkofficeui.so.2.0.0
b63cf000-b63dd000 rw-p 000c5000 03:01 219628 /opt/kde/lib/libkofficeui.so.2.0.0
b63dd000-b65e8000 r-xp 00000000 03:01 224379 /opt/kde/lib/kde3/libkwordpart.so
b65e8000-b65fc000 rw-p 0020b000 KCrash: Application 'kword' crashing...


The first error, about the lack of a dictionary, occurs immediately upon starting KWord, and I'm guessing it's not relevant to the problem at hand (though it might point to a missing dependency). All the others are spewed out when I try to open the config panel.

Ahh, gotcha! The problem was that I hadn't installed xorg-fonts-75dpi and xorg-fonts-100dpi, because browsers default to them when rendering web pages. Why these hideously ugly abominations of fonts should be needed for KWord config to work I have no idea, since it doesn't even appear to use them, but apparently they are needed.

Now to find a way to get Konqueror to use the right damned fonts... *rolls eyes*

aye, fonts are definetly needed for a text-processor. :)
i have them installed so that why i never got any crashes. i'll see about wether adding them to koffice directly or kdelibs/kdebase makes more sense, as you said, kde can make use of fonts as well.

konqueror might run into similar problems on some asian sites when some fonts are not installed.

Well, ttf-bitstream-vera and xorg-fonts-type1 should be enough looking at the that KWord uses... And apparently those fonts are *NOT* needed. I removed them, and it *still* works fine, so what happened kind of has me beat... I'm guessing I needed to run fc-cache for some reason, but I'm not sure. At any rate it might be a bit premature to add those hideous fonts as a dep.

What version of fontconfig do you have installed? Is it the official package from current or testing, or is it some other fontconfig package made by yourself?

Hmm, make sure you have 2.3.2-4 of fontconfig. Having -3 is tricky: two versions were floating around, one with patch, one without...