Introduction

Abstract

The poster advertising the conference on the acquisition of symbolic skills displayed graphic symbols from different alphabets and thus conveyed in a visually compelling way - and indeed in a symbolic way - what this conference was about. Clearly, the written letter and the written word are symbols par excellence and can be used as symbols of symbols. For this particular function they need to be presented in alienated form, that is archaic or esoteric script as was done in the poster, since otherwise we would simply be compelled to “read” rather than reflect about them. This observation shows at once that the written word can be considered as a symbol, as a sign, as a code, and as everyday language which we use as an essential tool for communication.