diff --git a/Data/Aeson.hs b/Data/Aeson.hs
--- a/Data/Aeson.hs
+++ b/Data/Aeson.hs
@@ -94,10 +94,7 @@
 -- returned.
 --
 -- The input must consist solely of a JSON document, with no trailing
--- data except for whitespace. This restriction is necessary to ensure
--- that if data is being lazily read from a file handle, the file
--- handle will be closed in a timely fashion once the document has
--- been parsed.
+-- data except for whitespace.
 --
 -- This function parses immediately, but defers conversion.  See
 -- 'json' for details.
diff --git a/Data/Aeson/Encode/ByteString.hs b/Data/Aeson/Encode/ByteString.hs
--- a/Data/Aeson/Encode/ByteString.hs
+++ b/Data/Aeson/Encode/ByteString.hs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 module Data.Aeson.Encode.ByteString
     ( encode
+    , encodeToBuilder
     , encodeToByteStringBuilder
     ) where
 
@@ -38,17 +39,22 @@
 
 -- | Efficiently serialize a JSON value as a lazy 'L.ByteString'.
 encode :: ToJSON a => a -> L.ByteString
-encode = B.toLazyByteString . encodeToByteStringBuilder . toJSON
+encode = B.toLazyByteString . encodeToBuilder . toJSON
 
 -- | Encode a JSON value to a ByteString 'B.Builder'. Use this function if you
 -- must prepend or append further bytes to the encoded JSON value.
+encodeToBuilder :: Value -> Builder
+encodeToBuilder Null       = null
+encodeToBuilder (Bool b)   = bool b
+encodeToBuilder (Number n) = number n
+encodeToBuilder (String s) = string s
+encodeToBuilder (Array v)  = array v
+encodeToBuilder (Object m) = object m
+
+-- | This function is an alias for 'encodeToBuilder'.
 encodeToByteStringBuilder :: Value -> Builder
-encodeToByteStringBuilder Null       = null
-encodeToByteStringBuilder (Bool b)   = bool b
-encodeToByteStringBuilder (Number n) = number n
-encodeToByteStringBuilder (String s) = string s
-encodeToByteStringBuilder (Array v)  = array v
-encodeToByteStringBuilder (Object m) = object m
+encodeToByteStringBuilder = encodeToBuilder
+{-# DEPRECATED encodeToByteStringBuilder "Use encodeToBuilder instead." #-}
 
 null :: Builder
 null = BP.primBounded (ascii4 ('n',('u',('l','l')))) ()
diff --git a/Data/Aeson/Parser/Internal.hs b/Data/Aeson/Parser/Internal.hs
--- a/Data/Aeson/Parser/Internal.hs
+++ b/Data/Aeson/Parser/Internal.hs
@@ -72,32 +72,30 @@
 #define C_n 110
 #define C_t 116
 
--- | Parse a top-level JSON value.  This must be either an object or
--- an array, per RFC 4627.
+-- | Parse a top-level JSON value.
 --
 -- The conversion of a parsed value to a Haskell value is deferred
 -- until the Haskell value is needed.  This may improve performance if
 -- only a subset of the results of conversions are needed, but at a
 -- cost in thunk allocation.
+--
+-- This function is an alias for 'value'. In aeson 0.8 and earlier, it
+-- parsed only object or array types, in conformance with the
+-- now-obsolete RFC 4627.
 json :: Parser Value
-json = json_ object_ array_
+json = value
 
--- | Parse a top-level JSON value.  This must be either an object or
--- an array, per RFC 4627.
+-- | Parse a top-level JSON value.
 --
 -- This is a strict version of 'json' which avoids building up thunks
 -- during parsing; it performs all conversions immediately.  Prefer
 -- this version if most of the JSON data needs to be accessed.
+--
+-- This function is an alias for 'value''. In aeson 0.8 and earlier, it
+-- parsed only object or array types, in conformance with the
+-- now-obsolete RFC 4627.
 json' :: Parser Value
-json' = json_ object_' array_'
-
-json_ :: Parser Value -> Parser Value -> Parser Value
-json_ obj ary = do
-  w <- skipSpace *> A.satisfy (\w -> w == OPEN_CURLY || w == OPEN_SQUARE)
-  if w == OPEN_CURLY
-    then obj
-    else ary
-{-# INLINE json_ #-}
+json' = value'
 
 object_ :: Parser Value
 object_ = {-# SCC "object_" #-} Object <$> objectValues jstring value
diff --git a/aeson.cabal b/aeson.cabal
--- a/aeson.cabal
+++ b/aeson.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name:            aeson
-version:         0.8.1.1
+version:         0.9.0.0
 license:         BSD3
 license-file:    LICENSE
 category:        Text, Web, JSON
diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,3 +1,16 @@
+0.9.0.0
+
+* The json and json' parsers are now synonyms for value and value', in
+  conformance with the looser semantics of RFC 7159.
+
+* Renamed encodeToByteStringBuilder to the more compact
+  encodeToBuilder.
+
+0.8.1.1
+
+* The dependency on the unordered-containers package was too lax, and
+  has been corrected.
+
 0.8.1.0
 
 * Encoding a Scientific value with a huge exponent is now handled