Vivian Cook was Professor of Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University, UK. His main interests were how people learn second languages and how writing works in different languages, particularly in street signs. He was a founder of the European Second Language Association and co-founder and co-editor of the journal Writing System Research.

Dick Smakman is Lecturer in Sociolinguistics and Second Language Teaching at Leiden University, the Netherlands. In his teaching and research, he combines the two fields. He has taught English and Dutch at various universities.