diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 34d32bc09fd25..4b53beac67184 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@ pcre_h.j:
 test: debug
 	./julia tests.j
 
-testall: test
+test-utf8:
 	./julia test_utf8.j
 
+testall: test test-utf8
+
 SLOCCOUNT = sloccount \
 	--addlang makefile \
 	--personcost 100000 \
@@ -51,4 +53,4 @@ clean:
 cleanall: clean
 	$(MAKE) -C src cleanother
 
-.PHONY: default debug release julia-debug julia-release test testall sloccount clean cleanall
+.PHONY: default debug release julia-debug julia-release test test-* testall sloccount clean cleanall
diff --git a/ascii.j b/ascii.j
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3ebd446436c09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ascii.j
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+## from src/boot.j
+# type ASCIIString <: String; data::Array{Uint8,1}; end
+
+next(s::ASCIIString, i::Index) = (char(s.data[i]), i+1)
+
+## overload methods for efficiency ##
+
+length(s::ASCIIString) = length(s.data)
+cmp(a::ASCIIString, b::ASCIIString) = lexcmp(a.data, b.data)
+ind2chr(s::ASCIIString, i::Int) = i
+chr2ind(s::ASCIIString, i::Int) = i
+strchr(s::ASCIIString, c::Char) = c < 0x80 ? memchr(s.data, c) : error("char not found")
+nextind(s::ASCIIString, i::Int) = i
+prevind(s::ASCIIString, i::Int) = i-1
+strcat(s::ASCIIString, t::ASCIIString, x::ASCIIString...) = ASCIIString(strdatacat(s, t, x...))
+
+## outputing ASCII strings ##
+
+print(s::ASCIIString) = print(s.data)
+write(io, s::ASCIIString) = write(io, s.data)
+
+## transcoding to ASCII ##
+
+ascii(s::ASCIIString) = s
+function ascii(s::String)
+    f = c -> (c < 0x80) ? uint8(c) : error("invalid ASCII code point: U+$(hex(c))")
+    ASCIIString(map(f, chars(s)))
+end
diff --git a/expr.j b/expr.j
index 661156a46fe13..2821624a4a872 100644
--- a/expr.j
+++ b/expr.j
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## symbols ##
 
-symbol(s::Latin1String) = symbol(s.data)
+symbol(s::ASCIIString) = symbol(s.data)
 symbol(s::UTF8String) = symbol(s.data)
 symbol(a::Array{Uint8,1}) =
     ccall(:jl_symbol_n, Any, (Ptr{Uint8}, Int32), a, int32(length(a)))::Symbol
diff --git a/latin1.j b/latin1.j
index d81fe5d6f174f..4256133a60ebd 100644
--- a/latin1.j
+++ b/latin1.j
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-## from boot.j:
-# type Latin1String <: String
-#     data::Array{Uint8,1}
-# end
+type Latin1String <: String
+    data::Array{Uint8,1}
+end
 
 next(s::Latin1String, i::Index) = (char(s.data[i]), i+1)
 
@@ -27,7 +26,6 @@ write(io, s::Latin1String) = write(io, s.data)
 
 latin1(s::Latin1String) = s
 function latin1(s::String)
-    f = c -> (c <= 0xff) ? uint8(c) :
-        error("invalid Latin-1 code point: U+$(hex(c))")
+    f = c -> (c <= 0xff) ? uint8(c) : error("invalid Latin-1 code point: U+$(hex(c))")
     Latin1String(map(f, chars(s)))
 end
diff --git a/multi.j b/multi.j
index c094df6f8124d..12549b852d398 100644
--- a/multi.j
+++ b/multi.j
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ function identify_socket(otherid, fd, sock)
     @assert i < PGRP.myid
     PGRP.workers[i] = Worker(locs[i].host, locs[i].port, fd, sock)
     PGRP.workers[i].id = i
-    #write(stdout_stream, latin1("$(PGRP.myid) heard from $i\n"))
+    #write(stdout_stream, "$(PGRP.myid) heard from $i\n")
     ()
 end
 
diff --git a/src/alloc.c b/src/alloc.c
index c2939a0f82c86..5c7031db85b22 100644
--- a/src/alloc.c
+++ b/src/alloc.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ jl_type_t *jl_array_uint8_type;
 jl_type_t *jl_array_any_type;
 jl_struct_type_t *jl_weakref_type;
 jl_tag_type_t *jl_string_type;
-jl_struct_type_t *jl_latin1_string_type;
+jl_struct_type_t *jl_ascii_string_type;
 jl_struct_type_t *jl_utf8_string_type;
 jl_struct_type_t *jl_expr_type;
 jl_bits_type_t *jl_intrinsic_type;
diff --git a/src/array.c b/src/array.c
index d3ce60b8bf47f..22ebeb0a2d745 100644
--- a/src/array.c
+++ b/src/array.c
@@ -195,8 +195,8 @@ jl_value_t *jl_pchar_to_string(char *str, size_t len)
 {
     jl_array_t *a = jl_pchar_to_array(str, len);
     JL_GC_PUSH(&a);
-    jl_struct_type_t* string_type = u8_isvalid(a->data, len) < 2 ?
-        jl_latin1_string_type : jl_utf8_string_type;
+    jl_struct_type_t* string_type = u8_isvalid(a->data, len) == 1 ? // ASCII
+        jl_ascii_string_type : jl_utf8_string_type;
     jl_value_t *s = jl_apply((jl_function_t*)string_type, (jl_value_t**)&a, 1);
     JL_GC_POP();
     return s;
diff --git a/src/boot.j b/src/boot.j
index f395d9beabfc0..a53fa08e4b018 100644
--- a/src/boot.j
+++ b/src/boot.j
@@ -117,15 +117,10 @@ isequal(w, v::WeakRef) = isequal(w, v.value)
 
 abstract String
 
-type Latin1String <: String
-    data::Array{Uint8,1}
-end
-
-type UTF8String <: String
-    data::Array{Uint8,1}
-end
+type ASCIIString <: String; data::Array{Uint8,1}; end
+type UTF8String  <: String; data::Array{Uint8,1}; end
 
-typealias ByteString Union(Latin1String,UTF8String)
+typealias ByteString Union(ASCIIString,UTF8String)
 
 abstract Exception
 
diff --git a/src/dump.c b/src/dump.c
index bc86d49d04894..5d15b2b6ce726 100644
--- a/src/dump.c
+++ b/src/dump.c
@@ -785,7 +785,7 @@ void jl_save_system_image(char *fname, char *startscriptname)
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_float64_type);
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_weakref_type);
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_string_type);
-    jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_latin1_string_type);
+    jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_ascii_string_type);
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_utf8_string_type);
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_errorexception_type);
     jl_serialize_value(&f, jl_typeerror_type);
@@ -852,7 +852,7 @@ void jl_restore_system_image(char *fname)
     jl_weakref_type->env = NULL;
     jl_weakref_type->linfo = NULL;
     jl_string_type = (jl_tag_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
-    jl_latin1_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
+    jl_ascii_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
     jl_utf8_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
     jl_errorexception_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
     jl_typeerror_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)jl_deserialize_value(&f);
diff --git a/src/init.c b/src/init.c
index 048e25a877dd8..34466871c28cd 100644
--- a/src/init.c
+++ b/src/init.c
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ void jl_get_builtin_hooks()
     jl_weakref_type->env = NULL;
     jl_weakref_type->linfo = NULL;
     jl_string_type = (jl_tag_type_t*)global("String");
-    jl_latin1_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)global("Latin1String");
+    jl_ascii_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)global("ASCIIString");
     jl_utf8_string_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)global("UTF8String");
     jl_errorexception_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)global("ErrorException");
     jl_typeerror_type = (jl_struct_type_t*)global("TypeError");
diff --git a/src/julia.h b/src/julia.h
index d2b0f8a030e10..dec4415a990a1 100644
--- a/src/julia.h
+++ b/src/julia.h
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_array_type;
 extern jl_typename_t *jl_array_typename;
 extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_weakref_type;
 extern jl_tag_type_t *jl_string_type;
-extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_latin1_string_type;
+extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_ascii_string_type;
 extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_utf8_string_type;
 extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_errorexception_type;
 extern jl_struct_type_t *jl_typeerror_type;
@@ -401,9 +401,9 @@ void *allocb_permanent(size_t sz);
 #define jl_is_task(v)        jl_typeis(v,jl_task_type)
 #define jl_is_func(v)        (jl_is_func_type(jl_typeof(v)) || jl_is_struct_type(v))
 #define jl_is_function(v)    jl_is_func(v)
-#define jl_is_latin1_string(v) jl_typeis(v,jl_latin1_string_type)
+#define jl_is_ascii_string(v) jl_typeis(v,jl_ascii_string_type)
 #define jl_is_utf8_string(v) jl_typeis(v,jl_utf8_string_type)
-#define jl_is_byte_string(v) (jl_is_latin1_string(v) || jl_is_utf8_string(v))
+#define jl_is_byte_string(v) (jl_is_ascii_string(v) || jl_is_utf8_string(v))
 #define jl_is_string(v)      jl_subtype(v,(jl_value_t*)jl_string_type,1)
 #define jl_is_cpointer(v)    jl_is_cpointer_type(jl_typeof(v))
 #define jl_is_pointer(v)     jl_is_cpointer_type(jl_typeof(v))
diff --git a/start.j b/start.j
index c1b76323a9df2..92b414beb146c 100644
--- a/start.j
+++ b/start.j
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ set_current_output_stream(stdout_stream)
 stdin_stream = fdio(ccall(:jl_stdin, Int32, ()))
 stderr_stream = fdio(ccall(:jl_stderr, Int32, ()))
 load("string.j")
-load("latin1.j")
+load("ascii.j")
 load("utf8.j")
 load("show.j")
 load("regex.j")
diff --git a/string.j b/string.j
index a17581409087d..3857045f926d5 100644
--- a/string.j
+++ b/string.j
@@ -340,7 +340,9 @@ function print_escaped(s::String, q::Bool, xmax::Char)
     if q; print('"'); end
 end
 
-print_escaped(s::Latin1String, q) = print_escaped(s, q, '\xff')
+# TODO: make sure ASCII, Latin-1 and UTF-8 strings all get
+# printed so that when input back they are equivalent.
+
 print_escaped(s::String, q)       = print_escaped(s, q, '\x7f')
 print_escaped(s::String)          = print_escaped(s, false)
 print_quoted (s::String)          = print_escaped(s, true)
@@ -708,7 +710,7 @@ function uint2str(n::Int, b::Int)
     ccall(:uint2str, Ptr{Uint8},
           (Ptr{Uint8}, Ulong, Uint64, Uint32),
           data, ulong(sz), uint64(n), uint32(b))
-    Latin1String(data[1:(sz-1)]) # cut out terminating NUL
+    ASCIIString(data[1:(sz-1)]) # cut out terminating NUL
 end
 
 uint2str(n::Int, b::Int, len::Int) = lpad(uint2str(n,b),len,'0')
diff --git a/sysimg.j b/sysimg.j
index 31991633cf4a8..5ab4c95866cf2 100644
--- a/sysimg.j
+++ b/sysimg.j
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ load("io.j")
 ccall(:jl_set_memio_func, Void, ())
 set_current_output_stream(make_stdout_stream())  # for error reporting
 load("string.j")
-load("latin1.j")
+load("ascii.j")
 load("utf8.j")
 load("show.j")
 
diff --git a/table.j b/table.j
index 4c8cb17af56c9..c86cd25b90567 100644
--- a/table.j
+++ b/table.j
@@ -81,11 +81,7 @@ function hash(a::Array)
     h
 end
 
-# TODO: should we distinguish a UTF8String and
-# a Latin1String containing the same exact data?
-
-hash(s::Union(UTF8String,Latin1String)) =
-    ccall(:memhash32, Uint32, (Ptr{Void}, Size), s.data, length(s.data))
+hash(s::ByteString) = ccall(:memhash32, Uint32, (Ptr{Void}, Size), s.data, length(s.data))
 
 # hash table
 
diff --git a/test_utf8.j b/test_utf8.j
index b4e4e333744f3..a6bb73482d5e6 100644
--- a/test_utf8.j
+++ b/test_utf8.j
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-utf32 = CharString(read(open("unicode/UTF-32LE.txt"), Char, 1112065)[2:]);
-utf8 = UTF8String(read(open("unicode/UTF-8.txt"), Uint8, 4382595)[4:]);
-@assert utf32 == utf8
+str1 = CharString(read(open("unicode/UTF-32LE.txt"), Char, 1112065)[2:]);
+str2 = UTF8String(read(open("unicode/UTF-8.txt"), Uint8, 4382595)[4:]);
+@assert str1 == str2
 
 str1 = "∀ ε > 0, ∃ δ > 0: |x-y| < δ ⇒ |f(x)-f(y)| < ε"
 str2 = CharString(
diff --git a/utf8.j b/utf8.j
index 8c86e72fdf195..9f7044993bf49 100644
--- a/utf8.j
+++ b/utf8.j
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-## from boot.j:
-# type UTF8String <: String
-#     data::Array{Uint8,1}
-# end
+## from src/boot.j:
+# type UTF8String <: String; data::Array{Uint8,1}; end
 
 ## basic UTF-8 decoding & iteration ##