diff --git a/Doc/ref/ref2.tex b/Doc/ref/ref2.tex
index 54706f33d80..33199492dfe 100644
--- a/Doc/ref/ref2.tex
+++ b/Doc/ref/ref2.tex
@@ -387,14 +387,14 @@ are generally referred to as \emph{triple-quoted strings}).  The
 backslash (\code{\e}) character is used to escape characters that
 otherwise have a special meaning, such as newline, backslash itself,
 or the quote character.  String literals may optionally be prefixed
-with a letter `r' or `R'; such strings are called \dfn{raw
-strings}\index{raw string} and use different rules for interpreting
-backslash escape sequences.  A prefix of 'u' or 'U' makes the string
-a Unicode string.  Unicode strings use the Unicode character set as
-defined by the Unicode Consortium and ISO~10646.  Some additional
+with a letter \character{r} or \character{R}; such strings are called
+\dfn{raw strings}\index{raw string} and use different rules for interpreting
+backslash escape sequences.  A prefix of \character{u} or \character{U}
+makes the string a Unicode string.  Unicode strings use the Unicode character
+set as defined by the Unicode Consortium and ISO~10646.  Some additional
 escape sequences, described below, are available in Unicode strings.
-The two prefix characters may be combined; in this case, `u' must
-appear before `r'.
+The two prefix characters may be combined; in this case, \character{u} must
+appear before \character{r}.
 
 In triple-quoted strings,
 unescaped newlines and quotes are allowed (and are retained), except
@@ -402,8 +402,8 @@ that three unescaped quotes in a row terminate the string.  (A
 ``quote'' is the character used to open the string, i.e. either
 \code{'} or \code{"}.)
 
-Unless an `r' or `R' prefix is present, escape sequences in strings
-are interpreted according to rules similar
+Unless an \character{r} or \character{R} prefix is present, escape
+sequences in strings are interpreted according to rules similar
 to those used by Standard C.  The recognized escape sequences are:
 \index{physical line}
 \index{escape sequence}
@@ -443,12 +443,12 @@ important to note that the escape sequences marked as ``(Unicode
 only)'' in the table above fall into the category of unrecognized
 escapes for non-Unicode string literals.
 
-When an `r' or `R' prefix is present, a character following a
-backslash is included in the string without change, and \emph{all
+When an \character{r} or \character{R} prefix is present, a character
+following a backslash is included in the string without change, and \emph{all
 backslashes are left in the string}.  For example, the string literal
 \code{r"\e n"} consists of two characters: a backslash and a lowercase
-`n'.  String quotes can be escaped with a backslash, but the backslash
-remains in the string; for example, \code{r"\e""} is a valid string
+\character{n}.  String quotes can be escaped with a backslash, but the
+backslash remains in the string; for example, \code{r"\e""} is a valid string
 literal consisting of two characters: a backslash and a double quote;
 \code{r"\e"} is not a valid string literal (even a raw string cannot
 end in an odd number of backslashes).  Specifically, \emph{a raw
@@ -537,9 +537,10 @@ lexical definitions:
              {\token{digit} | "a"..."f" | "A"..."F"}
 \end{productionlist}
 
-Although both lower case `l' and upper case `L' are allowed as suffix
-for long integers, it is strongly recommended to always use `L', since
-the letter `l' looks too much like the digit `1'.
+Although both lower case \character{l} and upper case \character{L} are
+allowed as suffix for long integers, it is strongly recommended to always
+use \character{L}, since the letter \character{l} looks too much like the
+digit \character{1}.
 
 Plain integer decimal literals must be at most 2147483647 (i.e., the
 largest positive integer, using 32-bit arithmetic).  Plain octal and