diff --git a/source/NVDAObjects/IAccessible/__init__.py b/source/NVDAObjects/IAccessible/__init__.py
index 90ba6007e16..8c7744c499e 100644
--- a/source/NVDAObjects/IAccessible/__init__.py
+++ b/source/NVDAObjects/IAccessible/__init__.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 import tones
 import languageHandler
 import textInfos.offsets
-from textUtils import HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST, HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST, LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST, LOW_SURROGATE_LAST
+import textUtils
 import colors
 import time
 import displayModel
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ def _getCharacterOffsets(self,offset):
 			start,end,text = self.obj.IAccessibleTextObject.TextAtOffset(offset,IAccessibleHandler.IA2_TEXT_BOUNDARY_CHAR)
 		except COMError:
 			return super(IA2TextTextInfo,self)._getCharacterOffsets(offset)
-		if HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST <= text <= HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST or LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST <= text <= LOW_SURROGATE_LAST:
+		if textUtils.isHighSurrogate(text) or textUtils.isLowSurrogate(text):
 			# #8953: Some IA2 implementations, including Gecko and Chromium,
 			# erroneously report one offset for surrogates.
 			return super(IA2TextTextInfo,self)._getCharacterOffsets(offset)
diff --git a/source/XMLFormatting.py b/source/XMLFormatting.py
index 18b4be8d0f3..73fe805d56a 100755
--- a/source/XMLFormatting.py
+++ b/source/XMLFormatting.py
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
+#XMLFormatting.py
+#A part of NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)
+#Copyright (C) 2008-2019 NV Access Limited, Babbage B.V.
+#This file is covered by the GNU General Public License.
+#See the file COPYING for more details.
+
 from xml.parsers import expat
 import textInfos
 from logHandler import log
+from textUtils import WCHAR_ENCODING, isLowSurrogate
 
 class XMLTextParser(object): 
 
@@ -19,7 +26,7 @@ def _startElementHandler(self,tagName,attrs):
 					data=chr(int(data))
 				except ValueError:
 					data=u'\ufffd'
-				self._CharacterDataHandler(data)
+				self._CharacterDataHandler(data, processBufferedSurrogates=isLowSurrogate(data))
 			return
 		elif tagName=='control':
 			newAttrs=textInfos.ControlField(attrs)
@@ -48,10 +55,12 @@ def _EndElementHandler(self,tagName):
 		else:
 			raise ValueError("unknown tag name: %s"%tagName)
 
-	def _CharacterDataHandler(self,data):
+	def _CharacterDataHandler(self,data, processBufferedSurrogates=False):
 		cmdList=self._commandList
 		if cmdList and isinstance(cmdList[-1],str):
-			cmdList[-1]+=data
+			cmdList[-1] += data
+			if processBufferedSurrogates:
+				cmdList[-1] = cmdList[-1].encode(WCHAR_ENCODING, errors="surrogatepass").decode(WCHAR_ENCODING)
 		else:
 			cmdList.append(data)
 
diff --git a/source/textUtils.py b/source/textUtils.py
index c2f8dca43fa..69cbebb921c 100644
--- a/source/textUtils.py
+++ b/source/textUtils.py
@@ -17,10 +17,6 @@
 import locale
 from logHandler import log
 
-HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST = u"\uD800"
-HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST = u"\uDBFF"
-LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST = u"\uDC00"
-LOW_SURROGATE_LAST = u"\uDFFF"
 WCHAR_ENCODING = "utf_16_le"
 
 class WideStringOffsetConverter:
@@ -169,9 +165,9 @@ def wideToStrOffsets(
 		# They take one offset in the resulting string, so our offsets are off by one.
 		if (
 			precedingStr
-			and HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST <= precedingStr[-1] <= HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST
+			and isHighSurrogate(precedingStr[-1])
 			and decodedRange
-			and LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST <= decodedRange[0] <= LOW_SURROGATE_LAST
+			and isLowSurrogate(decodedRange[0])
 		):
 			strStart -= 1
 			strEnd -= 1
@@ -225,3 +221,17 @@ def getTextFromRawBytes(
 		log.debugWarning("Error decoding text in %r, probably wrong encoding assumed or incomplete data" % buf)
 		text = rawText.decode(encoding, errors=errorsFallback)
 	return text
+
+HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST = u"\uD800"
+HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST = u"\uDBFF"
+
+def isHighSurrogate(ch: str) -> bool:
+	"""Returns if the given character is a high surrogate UTF-16 character."""
+	return HIGH_SURROGATE_FIRST <= ch <= HIGH_SURROGATE_LAST
+
+LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST = u"\uDC00"
+LOW_SURROGATE_LAST = u"\uDFFF"
+
+def isLowSurrogate(ch: str) -> bool:
+	"""Returns if the given character is a low surrogate UTF-16 character."""
+	return LOW_SURROGATE_FIRST <= ch <= LOW_SURROGATE_LAST