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Martha J. Macri (University of California, Davis) Session 96Contrasting graphic traditions among the Ancient MayaThe Maya books and the earlier Classic monumental inscriptions contributed to the decipherment of the script. However, neithertradition was monolithic. Calendrical information in the Classic texts allows the assignment of a date of first known occurrence toeach sign. It is then possible to note which signs are shared between the two traditions and which are unique to one or the other. Isummarize a statistical comparison currently underway. A model emerges in which both traditions shared a common origin, but fromthe early Classic period (at least CE 400) appear to have developed independently.Ian Maddieson (University of California, Berkeley/University of New Mexico) Session 103Phonological typology & areal features of indigenous languages of the AmericasInformation on basic phonological properties such as segment inventories and canonical syllable structure has been assembled in adatabase currently covering over 600 languages. These include about 90 from each of a North American and a South and CentralAmerican grouping defined jointly by geographical and genetic considerations. Using this material, several phonological traitstending to distinguish American languages from those of other areas can be detected, and overlapping distributions that demarcateareal or genetic groupings within the Americas can be extracted. These observations can be considered in relation to both recent andancient patterns of migration and contact.Laura Mahalingappa (University of Texas, Austin) Session 15Variability in the acquisition of split-ergativity in Kurmanji KurdishThis study examines the acquisition of split-ergativity in Kurmanji Kurdish where children are faced with variable distribution fromcaretaker input, caused by the weakening of the ergative construction in the language. Data include spontaneous speech samples andexperimental data from children (2;0-4;6) and caretakers. Data from caretakers confirm the limited use of the ergative, patterns whichare reflected closely in the data from older children. However, younger children (2;3-3;3) show a higher tendency to use ergativecase-marking, possibly due to overgeneralization. Thus children seem to acquire ergative constructions early but ultimately conformto the variability modeled by the adult community.Charles Mann (University of Surrey, United Kingdom) Session 87North & south: Attitudes towards Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin in urban NigeriaQuestionnaire- and interview-based surveys of attitudes toward Anglo-Nigerian Pidgin (ANP) were undertaken on stratified randomsamples of 1,200 respondents in six urban centers in southern Nigeria (Ibadan, Lagos, Benin, Warri, Port-Harcourt, Calabar) and 700respondents in seven urban centers in northern Nigeria (Sokoto, Zaria, Kaduna, Kano, Jos, Bauchi, Maiduguri) in relation toperceptions of its language status, possible use as a subject and medium of instruction, and possible adoption as an official language inthe future, given its ever-increasing vitality and preponderance. I discuss the findings in relation to these differing geopolitical,geolinguistic, and sociolinguistic contexts, and language attitudes theory.Danilo Marcondes (Pontifícia Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro) Session 79Roots of the notion of structureStructuralism is one of the main currents of the study of language in contemporary thought, though there are different versions of itsince ‘the structuralist turn’ of the beginning of the twentieth century. Structuralist theories of meaning have their roots in ancientphilosophy, e.g. in Plato and Aristotle. We shall follow Ernst Cassirer's analyses of the structural principle from its origins up to itsinfluence in contemporary theories of language. Structure is defined as (1) providing a hierarchical principle of organization and (2)establishing a set of rules determining the valid relations among elements which are parts of a whole.Stefania Marin (Yale University) Session 41Lexical & postlexical vowel coordination, Romanian diphthongs, &d blendingI present an experimental study that induces a postlexical synchronous coordination between two vowels across word boundary, as away to test a specific articulatory phonology hypothesis regarding Romanian lexical diphthongs [ea]/[oa]. The observed postlexicaleffects are comparable to alternations in Romanian phonology between lexical diphthongs and unstressed vowels, supporting thehypothesis that the phonological representation of Romanian diphthongs is that of two vowels synchronously coordinated.146