toki pona ASCII syllabary: Difference between revisions

The syllabary can be used to [[Text compression|compress text]], with each character being reducible to 7 {{w|bit}}s. Word lengths range from unchanged (for one-letter words) to a third as long, such as {{tok|<code>C%</code>}} for {{tp|[[sinpin]]}}. A major limiting factor for the {{w|Data compression ratio|compression ratio}} is the need to separate words, which is generally done with the ASCII {{w|Whitespace character|space}} (<code> </code>). {{tok|Misali}} also suggests using the syllabary as an {{w|input method}} for other writing systems.▼

The only unused printable, non-whitespace ASCII characters are the period (<code>.</code>), generally used as a sentence separator, and the colon (<code>:</code>). Any other [[punctuation]] would be lost due to conflicting with syllable characters or being out of the ASCII range. Similarly, due to the significant {{w|letter case}} and the use of all ASCII {{w|bracket}}s, there is no clear way to specify proper [[name]]s with this system. It has been suggested to use the colon for name marking where necessary, using the period as the only sentence separator.<ref>{{cite Discord|url=//discord.com/channels/301377942062366741/1156485500102778900/1194802490235953183|thread={{tok|sitelen Aki pi jan Misali · sE$ ak P j mcl}}|channel={{tok|toki-suli}}|server={{tp|ma pona pi toki pona}}|author={{tok|kulupu Menasewi}}|access-date=2024-01-15|quote=}}</ref>▼