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I read all the earlier posts - very helpful thanks all - but still cannot finish 4 down - last clue...
?A?K
Help!!!! Please

I managed to finish this on my own but I had to come here for several parsings. It was perhaps a bit reassuring that even the solvers on here were sometimes forced into "what Brendan must have meant".

(And, just to be pedantic, 2d when used as 3d should have a double letter at the end!)

4d: I’m not sure what the answer is. It is a bit vague to me and I can’t parse exactly. I think it starts with M, probably as a synonym for ‘book’. Another less likely possibility is that it starts with R, implying an order or grade.

The language in 11a has 18 letters in its alphabet, hence the reference to ‘fewer letters’ which is a nod to the theme I suspect. And I think ‘operating literally’ in 14a is also a reference to the use of letters in this discipline and therefore the theme.
David - great point re the double letter at the end of that word when used in the ‘alphabetic’ sense.

i think 4 and 8 are being confused with each other

Yes, I meant 8d.

jono @54
I said "superfluous" rather than "wrong". The clues are perfectly solvable without those bits.

Agree Chris, just trying to explain why they might be there. You’re correct of course, they’re not required

point taken, jono

If my 8d is right, I'm surprised it wasn't cross-referenced to another solution.