diff --git a/text/symbols.py b/text/symbols.py
index 7212f92..1be47bf 100644
--- a/text/symbols.py
+++ b/text/symbols.py
@@ -7,11 +7,12 @@ The default is a set of ASCII characters that works well for English or text tha
 from text import cmudict
 
 _pad        = '_'
-_eos        = '~'
-_characters = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz!\'(),-.:;? '
+_punctuation = '!\'(),.:;? '
+_special = '-'
+_letters = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
 
 # Prepend "@" to ARPAbet symbols to ensure uniqueness (some are the same as uppercase letters):
 _arpabet = ['@' + s for s in cmudict.valid_symbols]
 
 # Export all symbols:
-symbols = [_pad, _eos] + list(_characters) + _arpabet
+symbols = [_pad] + list(_special) + list(_punctuation) + list(_letters) + _arpabet