The branch of linguistics that studies graphemes, which are the smallest units of a writing system (like letters or symbols).
From grapheme (Greek graphein 'to write' + -eme 'unit') plus -ics suffix denoting a field of study. Emerged in mid-20th century linguistics as writing systems became a formal area of academic inquiry.
Graphemics reveals why 'c' can sound like 'k' or 's' — it's not about sound alone, but about how writing systems encode meaning independently from speech!
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