Two Talk

Introduction

Two Talk is a concise notation system for capturing meaning, not sentences. It uses small, fixed symbol pairs where each pair always means the same thing, and meaning comes from explicit context and composition rather than grammar. It provides a faster, more structured alternative to prose when accuracy and brevity are essential, whether you’re logging project updates, documenting technical systems, or organizing research and knowledge.

Two Talk works in plain text and is designed to be shared, processed, and reread reliably. It is deterministic: the same notation represents the same state no matter who writes it. This makes it useful across roles and environments - from project coordination to system tracking to standardized observation - wherever consistency across people, platforms, and time matters.

EXAMPLES

The project timeline needs to be extended:^^ ** #:

The task is getting close to its deadline:## :! :?

The team is getting together right now:@@ :*

The construction site is a long way away from the office:^* ^@ ^:

The 12 Symbols

Learn these 12 building blocks to generate any meaning in Two Talk.

PERSON
agent, individual, people

THING
object, resource, artifact

TIME
when, duration, timing

PLACE
where, space, location

ACTION
change, effort, motion

INFO
data, text, signal

CERTAINTY
truth, rule, confidence

UNKNOWN
question, doubt, possibility

LARGE
more, greater, expanded

SMALL
less, reduced, minor

SAME
stable, equal, aligned

NONE
absence, null, missing

Rules

Pairs: Every word is a two‑symbol pair.
Spacing: Words are separated by spaces or line breaks. The dot (.) never counts as spacing.
Context (**): Sets the current context. It applies until a new context is declared.
Dialect (=^): sets a local meaning inside the current context. (E.G, TECH, OPS, SYNC, PLAN, VAL) It applies until a new context or new dialect is set.
Compounds: Use a dot (.) to join pairs into a compound. Compounds read left to right.
Order: Meaning is interpreted in this order: Context > Dialect > Pair > Compound > Word sequence.
Literals: Use initials (JB, Q) for names or identifiers. Use numbers for quantities. Use ISO format for dates (YYYY‑MM‑DD).

Learn Two Talk in 6 steps

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1. What is Two Talk?

Two Talk compresses meaning using two-symbol pairs. Each pair has a default (canonical) meaning and related dialect meanings. Grammatical role (object, idea, action) is not encoded - it emerges from context.

English“The manager needs to review the budget report”

Two Talk:@ *" #^

By learning just 12 base symbols and how they combine, you can express nearly anything with extreme brevity.

2. Learn the 12 base symbols

Each base symbol represents a semantic axis. These meanings never change.

PERSONagent, individual (looks like a head)

THINGobject, resource (looks like a box)

TIMEwhen, timing (looks like a clock)

PLACEwhere, location (looks like a roof)

ACTIONchange, effort (looks like a spark)

INFOdata, signal (looks like quote mark)

CERTAINTYtruth, rule (likes like an exclaimation)

UNCERTAINTYquestion, doubt (looks like a question)

LARGEmore, expanded (looks like a plus sign)

SMALLless, reduced (looks like a minus sign)

SAMEstable, equal (looks like an equal sign)

NONEabsence, null (looks like a null sign)

Two Talk words are formed as: [category] + [modifier]

3. The Rules

Pairs: Every word is a two‑symbol pair.
Spacing: Words are separated by spaces or line breaks. The dot (.) never counts as spacing.
Context (**): Sets the current context. It applies until a new context is declared.
Dialect (=^): Sets a local meaning inside the current context.
Compounds: Use a dot (.) to join pairs into a compound. Compounds read left to right.
Order: Context > Dialect > Pair > Compound > Word sequence.
Literals: Use initials (JB) for names, numbers for quantities, and ISO (YYYY-MM-DD) for dates.

4. Your first Two Talk notation

Translate: “The team needs help”

1. Identify meaning: team (people acting together), help (support).
2. Choose symbol pairs: @@ (group), *@ (support).
3. Drop filler: Remove “the”, “needs”.
Result: @@ *@

5. Taking meeting notes

“We need to launch the new website by next Friday. The design team finished yesterday. Marketing will review today...”

Context: website** ^"

Launch on Friday (ISO)*+ 2026-02-07

Design group completed yesterday@@ :" =*

Marketing reviewing today@" :: *"

Result: ~90% shorter, same information, easier to scan later.

6. Real example: daily standup

:" #^ =* (yesterday: core system completed)
:" #- 3 *- (yesterday: 3 small fixes)
:: ^" ** (today: dashboard context)
!? #^ @^ (risk: blocked on infra team)

Two Talk compresses meaning, not words. Write the intent not the conversation.

Dictionary & Dialects

Pair	Canonical	Dialect