Twitter Character Count

【Update: Do not know when it happened but Twitter no longer differentiates between BMP and non BMP characters WRT character count. All characters now have a count of 1. I may, at some stage, delete this article but, for the time being, I will leave it here as an historical record of the evolution of Twitter.】

In a previous article I examined Sina Wēibó 新浪微博 character count for a user post schappo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/weibo-character-count.html Lets now examine twitter. The stated and generally understood limit is 140 characters for a tweet. This is not strictly true. The actual tweet limit is variable and ranges from 70 to 140, inclusive. Different characters have different counts, as follows:

• Characters from Unicode range U+0000➜U+FFFF have a count of 1
• Characters from Unicode range ≥ U+010000 have a count of 2

Or, to put it another way — Characters in the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) have a count of 1 and characters in the other planes have a count of 2. The 2 Mahjong Tile characters used in the example below are from the Supplementary Multilingual Plane (SMP).

Lets illustrate with a made-up posting that contains characters from the 2 Unicode ranges, above. The following text has a tweet character count of 17.

• one two 一二三四五
• 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 17

Weibo Character Count

Same as all the other microblog systems I have encountered, Sina Wēibó 新浪微博 has a 140 character limit for a user post. This is not strictly accurate. The character limit is variable and ranges from 70 to 280, inclusive. It depends on which characters are included. Different characters have different counts, as follows:

1. Characters from Unicode range U+0000➜U+00FF have a count of 0.5
2. Characters from Unicode range U+0100➜U+FFFF have a count of 1
3. Characters from Unicode range ≥ U+010000 have a count of 2

Some of the consequences of these differing counts are:

• If one writes in everyday English then one has up to 280 characters as these will be Latin characters in Unicode blocks Basic Latin and Latin-1 Supplement U+0000➜U+00FF. The Latin Script does though occur in several Unicode blocks en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_characters_in_Unicode. Latin characters in Unicode blocks other than Basic Latin and Latin-1 Supplement will have counts of 1 or 2 and usage of them will reduce the 280 limit.
• For a Chinese only post then if all the Chinese characters used are in the Unicode Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) then the limit will be the accepted 140 characters. There are many Chinese characters outside of the BMP and because they have a count of 2, usage of these will reduce the 140 limit. The extreme case being a limit of 70 if all characters used are Chinese characters outside of the BMP.
• In recent releases of OSX and iOS, Apple incorporated Emoji characters en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoji The majority of these Emoji characters are outside the BMP (ie ≥ U+010000) and so will have a count of 2.

Lets illustrate with a nonsensical posting that contains characters from the 3 Unicode ranges, above. The following text has a Weibo character count of 13.

• one two 🀂一二三四五🀀
• 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 13

My Adopted Chinese Name

In China there is a very famous Canadian by the name of Mark Rowswell dashan.com. One of the reasons he is so famous in China is that his Chinese is very very good. His adopted Chinese name is 大山 (dàshān) which means great or large mountain.

Several years ago I decided to also adopt a Chinese name. One day a name popped into my mind. Mark's Chinese is very good but my Chinese is only basic. Consequently, I chose the name 小山 (xiǎoshān) which means little mountain 😀

An advantage of having an adopted name is that one can change it and I can change it to reflect my progress in mastering the Chinese language. So as my Chinese improves I can change it to 中山 (zhōngshān) which means middle mountain. Then 大山 (dàshān) and finally, if I ever reach this level of proficiency, 巨山 (jùshān) which means gigantic mountain.

There are though, some days when I think my Chinese is so poor that maybe my adopted name should be 微山 (Wēishān) as this means micro mountain.

Western Brands on Weibo

The purpose of this article is to list some of the Western Companies/Brands that are using China's Sina Wēibó 新浪微博. The text in the square brackets is the Sina Wēibó 新浪微博 name. This article is a continuation of schappo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/companies-on-sina.html

1. 7 For All Mankind [@7ForAllMankind] weibo.com/7forallmankind ☆
2. Abercrombie & Fitch [@Abercrombie] weibo.com/abercrombieny ☆
3. Accenture [@埃森哲中国] weibo.com/accenture ☆
4. Accor Hotels [@雅高酒店AccorHotels] weibo.com/accorchina ☆
5. Air Liquide [@液空中国] weibo.com/airliquidechina ☆
6. AKG [@雅登-AKG中国] weibo.com/akgchina ☆
7. AkzoNobel [@阿克苏诺贝尔中国] weibo.com/akzonobelinchina ☆
8. Alberta Ferretti [@AlbertaFerretti] weibo.com/albertaferretti ☆
9. ALDO [@ALDO1972] weibo.com/n/ALDO1972 ☆
10. Alexander McQueen [@Alexander-McQueen] weibo.com/alexandermcqueen ☆
11. Allen Edmonds [@AllenEdmonds中国] weibo.com/allenedmondschina ☆
12. Allianz Insurance [@安联保险-Allianz] weibo.com/allianzone ☆
13. Alpenliebe [@微有爱] weibo.com/alpenliebekindness ☆
14. American Express [@美国运通中国官方微博] weibo.com/amexchina ☆
15. Anya Hindmarch [@Anya_Hindmarch_Official] weibo.com/anyahindmarchlondon
16. Argos [@Argos爱顾商城] weibo.com/2720491021 ☆
17. ASOS [@ASOS] weibo.com/asosofficial
18. Aspinal of London [@Aspinal-of-London] weibo.com/aspinaloflondonltd
19. Associated Press [@美联社] weibo.com/apimages ☆
20. Aston Martin [@阿斯顿马丁拉共达] weibo.com/astonmartinlagondacn ☆
21. Aston Villa FC [@阿斯顿维拉足球俱乐部] weibo.com/AVFCOfficial ☆
22. AVIS [@AVIS安飞士租车] weibo.com/avischina ☆
23. Balenciaga [@Balenciaga] weibo.com/officialbalenciaga ☆
24. Balmain [@瑞士宝曼手表] weibo.com/balmainwatches ☆
25. Barbie [@Barbie芭比官方微博] weibo.com/barbieofficial ☆
26. BASF [@巴斯夫大中华] weibo.com/basfinchina ☆
27. Bayer [@拜耳中国官方微博] weibo.com/bayerchina ☆
28. Bentley Motors [@宾利BentleyMotors] weibo.com/bentleymotorsuk ☆
29. Bergdorf Goodman [@Bergdorfs] weibo.com/bergdorfs ☆
30. Best Buy [@BestBuy百思买] weibo.com/bestbuycn ☆
31. Bloomingdaleʼs [Bloomingdales_USA] weibo.com/bloomingdalesusa
32. Blue Nile Inc [@BlueNileInc] weibo.com/bluenileinc ☆
33. Bobbi Brown [@BobbiBrownChina] weibo.com/bobbibrownchina ☆
34. Bonpoint [@Bonpoint-中国] weibo.com/bonpoint ☆
35. Bosch [@博世中国] weibo.com/boschauto ☆
36. Boucheron [@Boucheron宝诗龙微博] weibo.com/boucheronparis ☆
37. Breitling [@百年灵BREITLING] weibo.com/breitlingchina ☆
38. Bremont [@Bremont宝名表] weibo.com/bremont ☆
39. British Airways [@英国航空] weibo.com/britishairways ☆
40. Brompton Bicycle [@Brompton_bicycle_伯龙腾] weibo.com/bromptonbicycle ☆
41. BVLGARI [@BVLGARI宝格丽] weibo.com/bulgari ☆
42. BVLGARI Perfume [@宝格丽香水] weibo.com/bulgariperfume ☆
43. Cambridge Satchel Co. [@The_Cambridge_Satchel_Company] weibo.com/jianqiaobao ☆
44. Campo Marzio Design [@CampoMarzio中国区] weibo.com/campomarzio ☆
45. Camus [@卡慕CAMUS] weibo.com/camuschina ☆
46. CARAT London [@CARAT官方微博] weibo.com/caratlondon
47. Caterpillar [@Caterpillar官方微博] weibo.com/caterpillarinchina ☆
48. Cath Kidston [@CathKidstonChina] weibo.com/cathkidstonchina ☆
49. Champagne Taittinger [@泰亭哲香槟] weibo.com/champagnetaittinger
50. Cheerios [@雀巢脆谷乐] weibo.com/nestlecheerios ☆
51. Chopard [@萧邦Chopard] weibo.com/chopardchina ☆
52. Christian Louboutin [@ChristianLouboutin官方微博] weibo.com/LouboutinWorld ☆
53. Christie's [@佳士得国际] weibo.com/christies ☆
54. Clarisonic [@Clarisonic科莱丽-欧莱雅] weibo.com/clarisonicchina .
55. Club Monaco [@Club_Monaco] weibo.com/clubmonaco ☆
56. CME Group [@CMEGroup] weibo.com/cmegroup ☆
57. Cows Creamery [@COWS冰激凌] weibo.com/cowscreamery
58. Decanter [@Decanter醇鉴] weibo.com/decantercn ☆
59. Ducati [@杜卡迪中国] weibo.com/ducatichina ☆
60. Dulux [@多乐士Lets_Colour] weibo.com/letscolor ☆
61. DuPont [@杜邦公司] weibo.com/dupont ☆
62. eBay [@eBay] weibo.com/ebay ☆
63. Elizabeth Arden [@伊丽莎白雅顿美丽沙龙] weibo.com/elizabetharden ☆
64. EMC Corporation [@EMC中国-云计算] weibo.com/emcgreatchina ☆
65. Eppendorf [@eppendorf官方微博] weibo.com/eppendorfchina ☆
66. Ernst & Young [@安永EY] weibo.com/eyernstyoung ☆
67. Etro [@ETRO艾绰] weibo.com/etrochina ☆
68. Eurostar [@欧洲之星_Eurostar] weibo.com/eurostarchina
69. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts [@费尔蒙酒店] weibo.com/fairmonthotels ☆
70. Fendi [@FENDI] weibo.com/fendi ☆
71. Financial Times [@FT中文网] weibo.com/ftchinese ☆
72. Finnair [@芬兰航空Finnair] weibo.com/finnaircom
73. Firefox [@火狐] weibo.com/firefox ☆
74. Fisher-Price [@费雪中国官方微博] weibo.com/fisherprice ☆
75. Fisherman's Friend [@渔夫之宝官方微博] weibo.com/ffgfwb ☆
76. Fissler [@德国菲仕乐] weibo.com/fisslerchina2013 ☆
77. Flipboard [@Flipboard] weibo.com/flipboard ☆
78. Freescale Semiconductor [@飞思卡尔] weibo.com/freescale ☆
79. Furla [@Furla_孚勒] weibo.com/furlaofficial ☆
80. G-Star RAW [@G-STARCHINA] weibo.com/gstarchina ☆
81. Geox [@健乐士GEOX] weibo.com/jianleshigeox ☆
82. Girard-Perregaux [@GP芝柏表] weibo.com/gpchina ☆
83. Glenmorangie [@格兰杰单一麦芽威士忌] weibo.com/glenmorangiechina ☆
84. GNC [@GNCLiveWell] weibo.com/gnclivewell ☆
85. GRAFF [@格拉夫GRAFF] weibo.com/graff ☆
86. Gregory Mountain Products [@Gregory官方微博] weibo.com/gregory1977 ☆
87. Grey Goose [@法国灰雁GreyGoose] weibo.com/greygoosechina ☆
88. Guinevere Launcelot [@Guinevere_Launcelot] weibo.com/gltlondon
89. Gymboree [@金宝贝国际早教微课堂] weibo.com/gymboree ☆
90. H2O+ [@H2O水芝澳官方微博] weibo.com/h2ochina ☆
91. Hackett London [@Hackett-London] weibo.com/hackettlondon ☆
92. Halma [@HALMA中国] weibo.com/halma ☆
93. Hardy Amies [@HardyAmies赫迪雅曼] weibo.com/HardyAmies
94. Harry Winston [@海瑞温斯顿HarryWinston] weibo.com/harrywinston ☆
95. Hasbro [@孩之宝中国] weibo.com/hasbrochina ☆
96. Holland & Barrett [@HollandAndBarrett] weibo.com/hollandandbarrett ☆
97. Hollister [@Hollister] weibo.com/hollister ☆
98. Hooters [@美国猫头鹰餐厅-中国] weibo.com/hooterschina ☆
99. Hublot [@宇舶表] weibo.com/hublothanhan ☆
100. Hyatt [@凯悦酒店集团HYATT] weibo.com/hyatthotelscorp ☆
101. IBM [@IBM中国] weibo.com/ibm100 ☆
102. IMAX [@IMAX] weibo.com/imax ☆
103. Irregular Choice [@IrregularChoice香港] weibo.com/irregularchoicehk ☆
104. IWC [@IWC万国表] weibo.com/iwcchina ☆
105. J.Lindeberg [@JLINDEBERG林德伯格] weibo.com/jlindeberg ☆
106. Jack Wolfskin [@JackWolfskin官方微博] weibo.com/jackwolfskingermany ☆
107. Jaeger-LeCoultre [@积家官方微博] weibo.com/jaegerlecoultrechina ☆
108. Jo Malone [@JoMaloneLondon祖玛珑] weibo.com/jomalonelondon
109. Juniper Networks [@瞻博网络] weibo.com/junipernetworks ☆
110. Kate Spade New York [@katespade官方微博] weibo.com/katespadeny ☆
111. Kipsta [@KIPSTA中国] http://weibo.com/kipstachina ☆
112. Kleenex [@舒洁kleenex] http://weibo.com/n/舒洁kleenex ☆
113. Lagostina [@拉歌蒂尼] weibo.com/lagostina ☆
114. Lana Marks [@LANA-MARKS-CHINA] weibo.com/lanamarks ☆
115. Lancaster [@兰嘉丝汀] weibo.com/lancasterchina ☆
116. Le Coq Sportif [@lecoqsportif中国] weibo.com/lecoqsportif ☆
117. Lindt [@Lindt瑞士莲巧克力] weibo.com/lindtchina ☆
118. Lonely Planet [@LonelyPlanet] weibo.com/lonelyplanet ☆
119. Luis Via Roma [@LUISAVIAROMA官方微博] weibo.com/luisaviaroma
120. MAC Cosmetics [@MAC魅可] weibo.com/maccosmetics ☆
121. Macy's [@美国梅西百货] weibo.com/MacysChina
122. Manchester City FC [@曼城足球俱乐部MCFC] weibo.com/mcfcofficial
123. Manchester United FC [@曼联足球俱乐部] weibo.com/manchesterunited ☆
124. Mango [@MANGO中国官网] weibo.com/mangofashion ☆
125. Marc Jacobs [@MarcJacobsIntl莫杰] weibo.com/marcjacobsintl ☆
126. Maria Luisa [@MARIA_LUISA] weibo.com/marialuisa ☆
127. Marimekko [@MARIMEKKO_玛莉美歌] weibo.com/marimekkoofficial ☆
128. Marmot [@Marmot中国] weibo.com/marmot001 ☆
129. Marni [@MARNI] weibo.com/officialmarni ☆
130. Marvin Watches [@Marvin-瑞士摩纹表] weibo.com/marvinwatch ☆
131. MasterCard [@万事达人] weibo.com/mastercardchina ☆
132. Maxi-Cosi [@Maxi-Cosi] weibo.com/maxicosi ☆
133. McLaren [@迈凯伦汽车] weibo.com/mclarenchina ☆
134. Media Markt [@万得城电器] weibo.com/mediamarktchina ☆
135. Medtronic [@美敦力中国] weibo.com/medtronicchina ☆
136. Meltwater Group [@Meltwater] weibo.com/meltwater ☆
137. Mettler Toledo [@梅特勒-托利多中国] weibo.com/mettlertoledo ☆
138. Michael Kors [@Michael-Kors] weibo.com/michaelkors ☆
139. Monster Cable [@Monster-魔声中国] weibo.com/monsterchina ☆
140. Mothercare [@mothercare官方微博] weibo.com/mothercarechina ☆
141. Movado [@摩凡陀Movado] weibo.com/movado ☆
142. MTV [@MTV中文频道] weibo.com/mtvchina
143. Mulberry [@Mulberry_Official] weibo.com/mulberryofficial ☆
144. NASDAQ OMX [@纳斯达克交易所] weibo.com/nasdaqomx
145. Neiman Marcus [@NeimanMarcus尼曼] weibo.com/neimanmarcuschina ☆
146. NERF [@孩之宝NERF-热火] weibo.com/ilovenerf ☆
147. New Balance [@新百伦newbalance] weibo.com/newbalanceofficial ☆
148. New York Times [@纽约时报中文网] weibo.com/nytchinese ☆
149. Nuxe Paris [@Nuxe欧树] weibo.com/nuxe ☆
150. Old Navy [@OldNavyChina] weibo.com/oldnavychina
151. Ovaltine [@阿华田Ovaltine] weibo.com/ovaltine001 ☆
152. Oxford University Press [@牛津大学出版社全球学术出版] weibo.com/oupacademic ☆
153. Pandora [@PANDORA珠宝] weibo.com/pandorajewellery ☆
154. Papa John's Pizza [@棒约翰PapaJohns] weibo.com/papachina
155. Paul Smith [@PaulSmith保罗史密斯] weibo.com/paulsmithofficial ☆
156. Paula's Choice [@PaulasChoice宝拉珍选] weibo.com/paulaschoice01 ☆
157. PayPal [@PayPal_China] weibo.com/paypalmarketing ☆
158. Penguin Books [@企鹅出版社] weibo.com/penguinbooks ☆
159. Perficient [@博克软件] weibo.com/perficientchina ☆
160. Peugeot Scooters [@标致摩托] weibo.com/peugeotscooters ☆
161. Pfizer [@辉瑞中国] weibo.com/pfizerchina
162. Piaget [@PIAGET] weibo.com/piaget ☆
163. Piaggio [@比亚乔机车] weibo.com/piaggio1884 ☆
164. Pineider [@彼耐德Pineider] weibo.com/pineider ☆
165. Pizza Hut [@必胜客欢乐餐厅] weibo.com/pizzahut ☆
166. Pomellato [@Pomellato宝曼兰朵] weibo.com/pomellatoinchina ☆
167. Pony [@ponychina] weibo.com/ponychina ☆
168. Printemps [@春天百货Printemps] weibo.com/printempsparis ☆
169. Pull-in [@PULLIN内衣] weibo.com/pullinasia ☆
170. Razorfish [@RazorfishChina] weibo.com/razorfish
171. Ritz-Carlton [@丽思卡尔顿酒店] weibo.com/ritzcarlton ☆
172. Rockport [@ROCKPORT美国乐步] weibo.com/rockportchina ☆
173. Roger Dubuis [@罗杰杜彼RogerDubuis] weibo.com/rogerdubuis ☆
174. Roger Vivier [@RogerVivier_罗杰维维亚] weibo.com/rogervivier ☆
175. Rovio Entertainment [@Rovio娱乐] weibo.com/rovioentertainment
176. Rupert Sanderson [@RupertSanderson] weibo.com/rupertsanderson ☆
177. Schneider Electric [@施耐德电气中国] weibo.com/schneidercn ☆
178. SELECTED [@SELECTED中国官方微博] weibo.com/selectedchina
179. Selfridges [@Selfridges] weibo.com/selfridgesuk .
180. Sergio Rossi [@sergio_rossi] weibo.com/sergiorossi ☆
181. Shell [@壳牌中国集团] weibo.com/shellinchina
182. Sheraton Hotels & Resorts [@喜来登酒店及度假村Sheraton] weibo.com/sheratonhotels ☆
183. Shopbop [@shopbop] weibo.com/shopbopchina ☆
184. Sigma-Aldrich [@SigmaAldrich] weibo.com/sigmaaldrich ☆
185. Skechers [@SKECHERS斯凯奇] weibo.com/skechers ☆
186. Skyscanner [@Skyscanner天巡] weibo.com/skyscannertx ☆
187. South Coast Plaza [@SouthCoastPlaza] weibo.com/southcoastplaza
188. Standard Chartered Bank [@渣打银行中国] weibo.com/scbmainlandchina ☆
189. Stickhouse [@Stickhouse] weibo.com/stickhouse
190. Stiebel Eltron [@斯宝亚创StiebelEltron] weibo.com/stiebeleltron ☆
191. Stroili Oro [@StroiliOro] weibo.com/stroilioro ☆
192. TAG Heuer [@豪雅TAGHeuer] weibo.com/tagheuerchina ☆
193. Ted Baker [@TedBakerLondon] weibo.com/tedbakerlondon ☆
194. Tesco [@乐购中国官方微博] weibo.com/TESCOofficial ☆
195. The Glenlivet [@格兰威特威士忌] weibo.com/theglenlivet ☆
196. Thermo Fisher Scientific [@赛默飞] weibo.com/thermofishercn ☆
197. Times Higher Education [@泰晤士报高等教育期刊] weibo.com/timeshighereducation ☆
198. TLD Registry [@域通联达] weibo.com/tldregistry ☆
199. Toblerone [@瑞士三角巧克力] weibo.com/toblerone ☆
200. Tom & Jerry [@华纳兄弟-猫和老鼠] weibo.com/tomandjerryoffical ☆
201. Topshop Shēnzhèn [@TOPSHOP深圳] weibo.com/topshopsz ☆
202. Tottenham Hotspur [@热刺TottenhamHotspur] weibo.com/tottenhamhotspur ☆
203. Truefitt & Hill [@TRUEFITT-HILL-CHINA] weibo.com/truefittandhill ☆
204. Unisys [@优利中国] weibo.com/unisyschina
205. Valentino [@Valentino官方微博] weibo.com/valentinoofficial ☆
206. Van Cleef & Arples [@VanCleefArpels梵克雅宝] weibo.com/vancleefarpelschina ☆
207. Vichy Laboratoires [@薇姿医生] weibo.com/vichybrand ☆
208. Visa [@Visa中国] weibo.com/visachina ☆
209. VMware [@VMware中国] weibo.com/vmware ☆
210. Volvo [@沃尔沃集团中国] weibo.com/volvogroupchina ☆
211. Wall Street Journal [@华尔街日报中文网] weibo.com/chinesewsj
212. Wallpaper* Magazine [@WallpaperMagazine] weibo.com/wallpapermag ☆
213. Walmart [@沃尔玛中国官方微博] weibo.com/wmcsr
214. West Bromwich Albion [@西布朗足球俱乐部官微] weibo.com/westbrom
215. Westin Hotels & Resorts [@Westin] weibo.com/westinhotels ☆
216. Wiggle [@Wiggle中国] weibo.com/wigglechina .
217. William & Son [@WilliamandSon] weibo.com/williamandson
218. Wolfram [WolframChina] weibo.com/wolframchina
219. YOOX [@YOOX网络概念店] weibo.com/yooxcn ☆
220. Yves Rocher [@Yves-Rocher伊夫黎雪] weibo.com/yvesrocher1959 ☆
221. Zatchels [@Zatchels] weibo.com/zatchelsuk ☆
222. Zenith [@ZENITH真力时] weibo.com/zenithchina ☆

Language Characteristics

In this article I list some of the characteristics of natural languages and scripts as they are manifested and used in modern day IT. With languages there are always exceptions and so there will be some exceptions to these characteristics. I will not be delving into linguistic technicalities such as the distinction between mora and syllable or the distinction between logogram and ideogram. I will take a more broad brush approach.

Arabic

1. Arabic is written in the Arabic script
2. Written from right to left
3. The space character (U+0020 SPACE) is used as a separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+002E FULL STOP
5. Unicase ie no uppercase and lowercase letter forms
6. A Keyboard Mapping is sufficient in order to write Arabic
7. The Arabic script is inherently cursive and hence is presented/displayed in it's cursive form.
8. Letters change shape according to their position within a word. These different shapes are named Initial, Medial, Final and Isolated forms. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_alphabet#Letter_forms

Chinese

1. Chinese is written in the Chinese script which consists of hànzì (汉字) characters, of which, there are tens of thousands
2. Written from left to right. Once browsers implement CSS3 Writing Modes we may well see some return to the traditional vertical text in webpages dev.w3.org/csswg/css-writing-modes/#vertical-intro
3. There is no space character separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+3002 IDEOGRAPHIC FULL STOP
5. Unicase ie no uppercase and lowercase letter forms
6. An Input Method is required in order to write Chinese
7. All characters, including punctuation, are monospaced. Thus, for example, the list items separator in the text string "北京，南京，东京" is the single character U+FF0C FULLWIDTH COMMA. The text string "北京、南京、东京" uses the single character U+3001 IDEOGRAPHIC COMMA as the list items separator.
8. With respect to number of characters required to communicate, Chinese is much more compact than English. Given a sentence written in English, the same sentence written in Chinese would require far fewer characters. This compactness gives Chinese a significant advantage over English for IDNs and when microblogging.

English

1. English is written in the Latin script
2. Written from left to right
3. The space character (U+0020 SPACE) is used as a separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+002E FULL STOP
5. Has uppercase and lowercase letter forms
6. A Keyboard Mapping is sufficient in order to write English

Japanese

1. Japanese is written in the Japanese scripts Kanji (漢字), Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (カタカナ)
2. Written from left to right. Once browsers implement CSS3 Writing Modes we may well see some return to the traditional vertical text in webpages dev.w3.org/csswg/css-writing-modes/#vertical-intro
3. There is no space character separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+3002 IDEOGRAPHIC FULL STOP
5. Unicase ie no uppercase and lowercase letter forms. Uppercase is sometimes used for emphasis in English. Similarly, Katakana is sometimes used for emphasis.
6. An Input Method is required in order to write Japanese
7. In general, Japanese, like Chinese is monospaced. The exception is that there are half-width forms of Katakana and some punctuation characters. The half-width forms are in Unicode block Half-width and Full-width Forms U+FF00 ➤ U+FFEF.
8. With respect to number of characters required to communicate, Japanese is much more compact than English. Given a sentence written in English, the same sentence written in Japanese would require far fewer characters. This compactness gives Japanese a significant advantage over English for IDNs and when microblogging.

Korean

1. Korean is written in the Hangeul (한글) script
2. Written from left to right
3. The space character (U+0020 SPACE) is used as a separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+002E FULL STOP
5. Unicase ie no uppercase and lowercase letter forms
6. An Input Method is required in order to write Korean
7. The individual Korean letters (jamo/자모) are grouped into and displayed as Syllabic blocks. e.g. the individual jamo ㅎ ㅏ ㄴ ㄱ ㅜ ㄱ are combined to form the two Korean characters 한국

Russian

1. Russian is written in the Cyrillic (Кириллица) script
2. Written from left to right
3. The space character (U+0020 SPACE) is used as a separator between words and sentences
4. The sentence terminator full stop is the Unicode character U+002E FULL STOP
5. Has uppercase and lowercase letter forms
6. A Keyboard Mapping is sufficient in order to write Russian