diff --git a/rascal-textmate-core/src/main/rascal/lang/oniguruma/Conversion.rsc b/rascal-textmate-core/src/main/rascal/lang/oniguruma/Conversion.rsc
index 6091c11..9203ae3 100644
--- a/rascal-textmate-core/src/main/rascal/lang/oniguruma/Conversion.rsc
+++ b/rascal-textmate-core/src/main/rascal/lang/oniguruma/Conversion.rsc
@@ -170,10 +170,10 @@ str encode(list[int] chars, bool withBounds = false)
     ? "\\b<encode(chars, withBounds = false)>\\b"
     : intercalate("", [encode(i) | i <- chars]);
 
-str encode(int char)
-    = char in alnum 
-    ? stringChar(char)
-    : "\\x{<toHex(char)>}";
+str encode(int char) = preEncoded[char] ? "\\x{<toHex(char)>}";
+
+
+private set[int] charRange(str from, str to) = {*[charAt(from, 0)..charAt(to, 0) + 1]};
 
 private str toHex(int i)
     = i < 16 
@@ -184,5 +184,24 @@ private list[str] hex
     = ["<i>" | i <- [0..10]]
     + ["A", "B", "C", "D", "E", "F"];
 
-private set[int] alnum
-    = {*[48..58], *[65..91], *[97..123]};
\ No newline at end of file
+private set[int] printable
+    = charRange("0", "9")
+    + charRange("a", "z")
+    + charRange("A", "Z")
+    ;
+
+private map[int, str] escapes = (
+    0x09: "\\t",
+    0x0A: "\\n",
+    0x0D: "\\r",
+    0x20: "\\x20" // spaces look a bit strange in a regex, although they are valid, people tend to read over them as layout
+) + ( c : "\\<stringChar(c)>" | c <- [0x21..0x7F], c notin printable); // regular ascii characters that might have special meaning in a regex
+
+
+private map[int, str] addFallback(map[int, str] defined)
+    = ( char : "\\x<right(toHex(char),2, "0")>" | char <- [0..256], char notin defined)
+    + defined
+    ;
+
+private map[int, str] preEncoded
+    = addFallback(escapes + ( c : stringChar(c) | c <- printable));
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/vscode-extension/syntaxes/rascal.tmLanguage.json b/vscode-extension/syntaxes/rascal.tmLanguage.json
index b747e31..05935b3 100644
--- a/vscode-extension/syntaxes/rascal.tmLanguage.json
+++ b/vscode-extension/syntaxes/rascal.tmLanguage.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "repository": {
     "prod(lex(\"Comment\"),[lit(\"//\"),conditional(\\iter-star(\\char-class([range(1,9),range(11,1114111)])),{\\not-follow(\\char-class([range(9,9),range(13,13),range(32,32),range(160,160),range(5760,5760),range(8192,8202),range(8239,8239),range(8287,8287),range(12288,12288)])),\\end-of-line()})],{tag(\"category\"(\"comment\"))})": {
-      "match": "((?:\\x{2F}\\x{2F})(?:(?:[\\x{1}-\\x{9}]|[\\x{B}-\\x{10FFFF}])*?(?!(?:[\\x{9}-\\x{9}]|[\\x{D}-\\x{D}]|[\\x{20}-\\x{20}]|[\\x{A0}-\\x{A0}]|[\\x{1680}-\\x{1680}]|[\\x{2000}-\\x{200A}]|[\\x{202F}-\\x{202F}]|[\\x{205F}-\\x{205F}]|[\\x{3000}-\\x{3000}]))(?:$)))",
+      "match": "((?:\\/\\/)(?:(?:[\\x01-\\t]|[\\x0B-\\x{10FFFF}])*?(?!(?:[\\t-\\t]|[\\r-\\r]|[\\x20-\\x20]|[\\xA0-\\xA0]|[\\x{1680}-\\x{1680}]|[\\x{2000}-\\x{200A}]|[\\x{202F}-\\x{202F}]|[\\x{205F}-\\x{205F}]|[\\x{3000}-\\x{3000}]))(?:$)))",
       "name": "prod(lex(\"Comment\"),[lit(\"//\"),conditional(\\iter-star(\\char-class([range(1,9),range(11,1114111)])),{\\not-follow(\\char-class([range(9,9),range(13,13),range(32,32),range(160,160),range(5760,5760),range(8192,8202),range(8239,8239),range(8287,8287),range(12288,12288)])),\\end-of-line()})],{tag(\"category\"(\"comment\"))})",
       "captures": {
         "1": {
@@ -19,16 +19,16 @@
       }
     },
     "prod(lex(\"delimiters\"),[alt({lit(\"bottom-up-break\"),lit(\")\"),lit(\"≫\"),lit(\"\\n\"),lit(\"!:=\"),lit(\"\\'\"),lit(\"!=\"),lit(\"\\>=\"),lit(\"://\"),lit(\"non-assoc\"),lit(\"&=\"),lit(\"\\<-\"),lit(\"*=\"),lit(\"+=\"),lit(\"top-down-break\"),lit(\",\"),lit(\"...\"),lit(\"/=\"),lit(\"⇨\"),lit(\"(\"),lit(\"*/\"),lit(\"%\"),lit(\"!\\<\\<\"),lit(\"=\\>\"),lit(\"!\\>\\>\"),lit(\"||\"),lit(\"\\>\\>\"),lit(\"::\"),lit(\"⚠\"),lit(\"&&\"),lit(\"@\"),lit(\":=\"),lit(\"#\"),lit(\"\\<==\\>\"),lit(\"\\\"\"),lit(\"\\<\\<=\"),lit(\"}\"),lit(\"?=\"),lit(\"\\<:\"),lit(\"==\\>\"),lit(\"^\"),lit(\"/*\"),lit(\";\"),lit(\"{\"),lit(\"-=\"),lit(\"$T\")})],{})": {
-      "match": "(?:(?:bottom\\x{2D}up\\x{2D}break)|(?:\\x{29})|(?:\\x{226B})|(?:\\x{A})|(?:\\x{21}\\x{3A}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{27})|(?:\\x{21}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{3E}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{3A}\\x{2F}\\x{2F})|(?:non\\x{2D}assoc)|(?:\\x{26}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{3C}\\x{2D})|(?:\\x{2A}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{2B}\\x{3D})|(?:top\\x{2D}down\\x{2D}break)|(?:\\x{2C})|(?:\\x{2E}\\x{2E}\\x{2E})|(?:\\x{2F}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{21E8})|(?:\\x{28})|(?:\\x{2A}\\x{2F})|(?:\\x{25})|(?:\\x{21}\\x{3C}\\x{3C})|(?:\\x{3D}\\x{3E})|(?:\\x{21}\\x{3E}\\x{3E})|(?:\\x{7C}\\x{7C})|(?:\\x{3E}\\x{3E})|(?:\\x{3A}\\x{3A})|(?:\\x{26A0})|(?:\\x{26}\\x{26})|(?:\\x{40})|(?:\\x{3A}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{23})|(?:\\x{3C}\\x{3D}\\x{3D}\\x{3E})|(?:\\x{22})|(?:\\x{3C}\\x{3C}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{7D})|(?:\\x{3F}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{3C}\\x{3A})|(?:\\x{3D}\\x{3D}\\x{3E})|(?:\\x{5E})|(?:\\x{2F}\\x{2A})|(?:\\x{3B})|(?:\\x{7B})|(?:\\x{2D}\\x{3D})|(?:\\x{24}T))",
+      "match": "(?:(?:bottom\\-up\\-break)|(?:\\))|(?:\\x{226B})|(?:\\n)|(?:\\!\\:\\=)|(?:\\')|(?:\\!\\=)|(?:\\>\\=)|(?:\\:\\/\\/)|(?:non\\-assoc)|(?:\\&\\=)|(?:\\<\\-)|(?:\\*\\=)|(?:\\+\\=)|(?:top\\-down\\-break)|(?:\\,)|(?:\\.\\.\\.)|(?:\\/\\=)|(?:\\x{21E8})|(?:\\()|(?:\\*\\/)|(?:\\%)|(?:\\!\\<\\<)|(?:\\=\\>)|(?:\\!\\>\\>)|(?:\\|\\|)|(?:\\>\\>)|(?:\\:\\:)|(?:\\x{26A0})|(?:\\&\\&)|(?:\\@)|(?:\\:\\=)|(?:\\#)|(?:\\<\\=\\=\\>)|(?:\\\")|(?:\\<\\<\\=)|(?:\\})|(?:\\?\\=)|(?:\\<\\:)|(?:\\=\\=\\>)|(?:\\^)|(?:\\/\\*)|(?:\\;)|(?:\\{)|(?:\\-\\=)|(?:\\$T))",
       "name": "prod(lex(\"delimiters\"),[alt({lit(\"bottom-up-break\"),lit(\")\"),lit(\"≫\"),lit(\"\\n\"),lit(\"!:=\"),lit(\"\\'\"),lit(\"!=\"),lit(\"\\>=\"),lit(\"://\"),lit(\"non-assoc\"),lit(\"&=\"),lit(\"\\<-\"),lit(\"*=\"),lit(\"+=\"),lit(\"top-down-break\"),lit(\",\"),lit(\"...\"),lit(\"/=\"),lit(\"⇨\"),lit(\"(\"),lit(\"*/\"),lit(\"%\"),lit(\"!\\<\\<\"),lit(\"=\\>\"),lit(\"!\\>\\>\"),lit(\"||\"),lit(\"\\>\\>\"),lit(\"::\"),lit(\"⚠\"),lit(\"&&\"),lit(\"@\"),lit(\":=\"),lit(\"#\"),lit(\"\\<==\\>\"),lit(\"\\\"\"),lit(\"\\<\\<=\"),lit(\"}\"),lit(\"?=\"),lit(\"\\<:\"),lit(\"==\\>\"),lit(\"^\"),lit(\"/*\"),lit(\";\"),lit(\"{\"),lit(\"-=\"),lit(\"$T\")})],{})",
-      "captures": []
+      "captures": {}
     },
     "lit(\"`\"):lit(\"`\")": {
-      "begin": "(?:\\x{60})",
-      "end": "(?:\\x{60})",
+      "begin": "(?:\\`)",
+      "end": "(?:\\`)",
       "patterns": [
         {
-          "match": "(\\x{5C}\\x{5C})",
+          "match": "(\\\\\\\\)",
           "name": "prod(label(\"bs\",lex(\"ConcretePart\")),[lit(\"\\\\\\\\\")],{tag(\"category\"(\"string\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
           }
         },
         {
-          "match": "(\\x{5C}\\x{3E})",
+          "match": "(\\\\\\>)",
           "name": "prod(label(\"gt\",lex(\"ConcretePart\")),[lit(\"\\\\\\>\")],{tag(\"category\"(\"string\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
           }
         },
         {
-          "match": "((?:[\\x{1}-\\x{9}]|[\\x{B}-\\x{3B}]|[\\x{3D}-\\x{3D}]|[\\x{3F}-\\x{5B}]|[\\x{5D}-\\x{5F}]|[a-\\x{10FFFF}])+?(?!(?:[\\x{1}-\\x{9}]|[\\x{B}-\\x{3B}]|[\\x{3D}-\\x{3D}]|[\\x{3F}-\\x{5B}]|[\\x{5D}-\\x{5F}]|[a-\\x{10FFFF}])))",
+          "match": "((?:[\\x01-\\t]|[\\x0B-\\;]|[\\=-\\=]|[\\?-\\[]|[\\]-\\_]|[a-\\x{10FFFF}])+?(?!(?:[\\x01-\\t]|[\\x0B-\\;]|[\\=-\\=]|[\\?-\\[]|[\\]-\\_]|[a-\\x{10FFFF}])))",
           "name": "prod(label(\"text\",lex(\"ConcretePart\")),[conditional(iter(\\char-class([range(1,9),range(11,59),range(61,61),range(63,91),range(93,95),range(97,1114111)])),{\\not-follow(\\char-class([range(1,9),range(11,59),range(61,61),range(63,91),range(93,95),range(97,1114111)]))})],{tag(\"category\"(\"string\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
           }
         },
         {
-          "match": "(\\x{5C}\\x{3C})",
+          "match": "(\\\\\\<)",
           "name": "prod(label(\"lt\",lex(\"ConcretePart\")),[lit(\"\\\\\\<\")],{tag(\"category\"(\"string\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@
           }
         },
         {
-          "match": "(\\x{5C}\\x{60})",
+          "match": "(\\\\\\`)",
           "name": "prod(label(\"bq\",lex(\"ConcretePart\")),[lit(\"\\\\`\")],{tag(\"category\"(\"string\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -76,11 +76,11 @@
       "name": "lit(\"`\"):lit(\"`\")"
     },
     "lit(\"[\"):lit(\"]\")": {
-      "begin": "(?:\\x{5B})",
-      "end": "(?:\\x{5D})",
+      "begin": "(?:\\[)",
+      "end": "(?:\\])",
       "patterns": [
         {
-          "match": "((?:\\x{5C})(?:[\\x{20}-\\x{20}]|[\\x{22}-\\x{22}]|[\\x{27}-\\x{27}]|[\\x{2D}-\\x{2D}]|[\\x{3C}-\\x{3C}]|[\\x{3E}-\\x{3E}]|[\\x{5B}-\\x{5D}]|[b-b]|[f-f]|[n-n]|[r-r]|[t-t]))",
+          "match": "((?:\\\\)(?:[\\x20-\\x20]|[\\\"-\\\"]|[\\'-\\']|[\\--\\-]|[\\<-\\<]|[\\>-\\>]|[\\[-\\]]|[b-b]|[f-f]|[n-n]|[r-r]|[t-t]))",
           "name": "prod(lex(\"Char\"),[lit(\"\\\\\"),\\char-class([range(32,32),range(34,34),range(39,39),range(45,45),range(60,60),range(62,62),range(91,93),range(98,98),range(102,102),range(110,110),range(114,114),range(116,116)])],{tag(\"category\"(\"constant\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
           }
         },
         {
-          "match": "((?:(?:\\x{5C})[U-U](?:(?:\\b10\\b)|(?:(?:\\b0\\b)(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])))(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f]))|(?:(?:\\x{5C})[u-u](?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f]))|(?:(?:\\x{5C})[a-a][0-7](?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])))",
+          "match": "((?:(?:\\\\)[U-U](?:(?:\\b10\\b)|(?:(?:\\b0\\b)(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])))(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f]))|(?:(?:\\\\)[u-u](?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])(?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f]))|(?:(?:\\\\)[a-a][0-7](?:[0-9]|[A-F]|[a-f])))",
           "name": "prod(lex(\"Char\"),[lex(\"UnicodeEscape\")],{tag(\"category\"(\"constant\"))})",
           "captures": {
             "1": {