diff -r 35f9ffb13fd6 libinterp/corefcn/pr-output.cc
--- a/libinterp/corefcn/pr-output.cc	Wed Oct 23 12:50:42 2019 -0700
+++ b/libinterp/corefcn/pr-output.cc	Wed Oct 23 13:57:24 2019 -0700
@@ -2642,14 +2642,14 @@ octave_print_internal (std::ostream& os,
 
               if (pr_as_read_syntax)
                 {
-                  os << '"' << octave::undo_string_escapes (row) << '"';
+                  os << '\'' << octave::undo_string_escapes (row) << '\'';
 
                   if (i < nstr - 1)
                     os << "; ";
                 }
               else
                 {
-                  os << row;
+                  os << '\'' << row << '\'';
 
                   if (i < nstr - 1)
                     os << "\n";