In 2026 we are hosting the fifth Grapholinguistics in the 21st Century conference, also called gʁafematik. gʁafematik will take place on 24–26 June, with extra workshops scheduled for 22 and 23 June. We have timed the TDi to immediately follow on from gʁafematik, so that delegates can stay on and take part in the TDi.
gʁafematik is a biennial conference bringing together disciplines concerned with grapholinguistics and, more generally, the study of writing systems and their representation in written communication. The conference aims to reflect on the current state of research in the area and on the role that writing and writing systems play in neighboring disciplines like computer science and information technology, communication, typography, psychology, and pedagogy. In particular it aims to study the effect of the growing importance of Unicode with regard to the future of reading and writing in human societies. Reflecting the richness of perspectives on writing systems, G21C is actively interdisciplinary. It welcomes proposals from researchers from the fields of computer science and information technology, linguistics, communication, pedagogy, psychology, history, and the social sciences.
G21C aims to create a space for discussing the range of approaches to writing systems and specifically to bridge approaches in linguistics, informatics, and other fields. It will provide a forum for explorations in terminology, methodology, and theoretical approaches relating to delineating an emerging interdisciplinary area of research that intersects with intense activity in practical implementations of writing systems.