Grapholinguistics

Grapholinguistics is the interdisciplinary study of writing, writing systems and literacy. The field is also known under many other names, such as grammatology or graphemics. Theoretical grapholinguistics deals with the theory of writing, which includes the investigation of the relationship between speech/signing and writing, the construction of models of writing, and the development of descriptive tools for the unified description of writing systems. Applied grapholinguistics, on the other hand, takes that theoretical knowledge and puts it to work on practical problems in the real world, for example literacy instruction or the diagnosis and treatment of disorders that affect reading and writing.

Historically, there wasn't a lot of systematic study of writing being done in the Anglo-American tradition of linguistics. Writing was considered peripheral to the study of language, so no significant body of theory was gathered on it. The same wasn't true in continental linguistics, where Schriftlinguistik became an established field.

Grapholinguistics plays a crucial role in addressing issues related to linguocrankery. Writing attracts a lot of pseudolinguistic speculation because it's the most visual and tangible aspect of language, with the ability to write also carrying a great deal of prestige, which prompts a lot of revisionist history. Grapholinguistic theory provides the necessary tools and methodologies to counteract and challenge such misleading speculation, pseudoscience, and hoaxes, thus safeguarding the accurate understanding of the history and nature of writing.