Grammatology

/ˌɡræməˈtɑːlədʒi/ noun

Definition

The philosophical study of writing systems, letters, and written language; the theory of how writing relates to language and meaning.

Etymology

From 'grammat-' (Greek 'gramma,' letter or something written) plus '-ology' (from Greek 'logos,' study or science), creating 'the study of writing' or 'the science of letters.'

Kelly Says

Jacques Derrida's famous book 'Of Grammatology' used this word to argue that writing is just as fundamental to language as speech—it basically challenged thousands of years of thinking that spoken words were 'more real' than written ones!

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