diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 44fac12..45a5ea9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ Compatible with PHP 5.3+. Inspired by underscore.string.js.
     * [ensureLeft](#ensureleft)
     * [ensureRight](#ensureright)
     * [first](#first)
+    * [getEncoding](#getencoding)
     * [humanize](#humanize)
     * [insert](#insert)
     * [isAlpha](#isalpha)
@@ -340,6 +341,16 @@ S::create('fòô bàř', 'UTF-8')->first(3);
 S::first('fòô bàř', 3, 'UTF-8');  // 'fòô'
 ```
 
+#### getEncoding
+
+$stringy->getEncoding()
+
+Returns the encoding used by the Stringy object.
+
+```php
+S::create('fòô bàř', 'UTF-8')->getEncoding();  // 'UTF-8'
+```
+
 #### humanize
 
 $stringy->humanize()
diff --git a/src/Stringy.php b/src/Stringy.php
index cc962c9..a34f3b5 100644
--- a/src/Stringy.php
+++ b/src/Stringy.php
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ namespace Stringy;
 
 class Stringy implements \Countable, \IteratorAggregate, \ArrayAccess
 {
-    private $str;
+    protected $str;
 
-    public $encoding;
+    protected $encoding;
 
     /**
      * Initializes a Stringy object and assigns both str and encoding properties
@@ -64,6 +64,16 @@ class Stringy implements \Countable, \IteratorAggregate, \ArrayAccess
         return $this->str;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the encoding used by the Stringy object.
+     *
+     * @return string The current value of the $encoding property
+     */
+    public function getEncoding()
+    {
+        return $this->encoding;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns the length of the string, implementing the countable interface.
      *
diff --git a/tests/StringyTest.php b/tests/StringyTest.php
index 5c4d8a8..4a6d49e 100644
--- a/tests/StringyTest.php
+++ b/tests/StringyTest.php
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ class StringyTestCase extends CommonTest
         $stringy = new S('foo bar', 'UTF-8');
         $this->assertInstanceOf('Stringy\Stringy', $stringy);
         $this->assertEquals('foo bar', (string) $stringy);
-        $this->assertEquals('UTF-8', $stringy->encoding);
+        $this->assertEquals('UTF-8', $stringy->getEncoding());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class StringyTestCase extends CommonTest
         $stringy = S::create('foo bar', 'UTF-8');
         $this->assertInstanceOf('Stringy\Stringy', $stringy);
         $this->assertEquals('foo bar', (string) $stringy);
-        $this->assertEquals('UTF-8', $stringy->encoding);
+        $this->assertEquals('UTF-8', $stringy->getEncoding());
     }
 
     public function testChaining()