diff --git a/IPython/config/loader.py b/IPython/config/loader.py
index d6212cd..d8fdb11 100644
--- a/IPython/config/loader.py
+++ b/IPython/config/loader.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import sys
 from IPython.external import argparse
 from IPython.utils.path import filefind, get_ipython_dir
 from IPython.utils import py3compat, text, warn
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Exceptions
@@ -439,7 +440,7 @@ class KeyValueConfigLoader(CommandLineConfigLoader):
         """decode argv if bytes, using stin.encoding, falling back on default enc"""
         uargv = []
         if enc is None:
-            enc = py3compat.getdefaultencoding()
+            enc = getdefaultencoding()
         for arg in argv:
             if not isinstance(arg, unicode):
                 # only decode if not already decoded
@@ -603,7 +604,7 @@ class ArgParseConfigLoader(CommandLineConfigLoader):
     def _parse_args(self, args):
         """self.parser->self.parsed_data"""
         # decode sys.argv to support unicode command-line options
-        enc = py3compat.getdefaultencoding()
+        enc = getdefaultencoding()
         uargs = [py3compat.cast_unicode(a, enc) for a in args]
         self.parsed_data, self.extra_args = self.parser.parse_known_args(uargs)
 
diff --git a/IPython/core/macro.py b/IPython/core/macro.py
index d8b878d..75950f2 100644
--- a/IPython/core/macro.py
+++ b/IPython/core/macro.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import re
 import sys
 
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 
 coding_declaration = re.compile(r"#\s*coding[:=]\s*([-\w.]+)")
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ class Macro(object):
                 lines.append(line)
         code = "\n".join(lines)
         if isinstance(code, bytes):
-            code = code.decode(enc or py3compat.getdefaultencoding())
+            code = code.decode(enc or getdefaultencoding())
         self.value = code + '\n'
     
     def __str__(self):
diff --git a/IPython/core/magic.py b/IPython/core/magic.py
index 4d3d059..b7590c6 100644
--- a/IPython/core/magic.py
+++ b/IPython/core/magic.py
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ from IPython.core.pylabtools import mpl_runner
 from IPython.testing.skipdoctest import skip_doctest
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
 from IPython.utils import openpy
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 from IPython.utils.io import file_read, nlprint
 from IPython.utils.module_paths import find_mod
 from IPython.utils.path import get_py_filename, unquote_filename
@@ -949,7 +950,7 @@ Currently the magic system has the following functions:\n"""
                 try:
                     vstr = str(var)
                 except UnicodeEncodeError:
-                    vstr = unicode(var).encode(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(),
+                    vstr = unicode(var).encode(getdefaultencoding(),
                                                'backslashreplace')
                 vstr = vstr.replace('\n','\\n')
                 if len(vstr) < 50:
diff --git a/IPython/core/splitinput.py b/IPython/core/splitinput.py
index ed54775..ab9063b 100644
--- a/IPython/core/splitinput.py
+++ b/IPython/core/splitinput.py
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import re
 import sys
 
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.encoding import get_stream_enc
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Main function
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ def split_user_input(line, pattern=None):
     and the rest.
     """
     # We need to ensure that the rest of this routine deals only with unicode
-    encoding = py3compat.get_stream_enc(sys.stdin, 'utf-8')
+    encoding = get_stream_enc(sys.stdin, 'utf-8')
     line = py3compat.cast_unicode(line, encoding)
 
     if pattern is None:
diff --git a/IPython/core/tests/test_compilerop.py b/IPython/core/tests/test_compilerop.py
index 1ffaaa2..f586c33 100644
--- a/IPython/core/tests/test_compilerop.py
+++ b/IPython/core/tests/test_compilerop.py
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def test_cache():
 def setUp():
     # Check we're in a proper Python 2 environment (some imports, such
     # as GTK, can change the default encoding, which can hide bugs.)
-    nt.assert_equal(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(), "utf-8" if py3compat.PY3 else "ascii")
+    nt.assert_equal(sys.getdefaultencoding(), "utf-8" if py3compat.PY3 else "ascii")
 
 def test_cache_unicode():
     cp = compilerop.CachingCompiler()
diff --git a/IPython/core/tests/test_history.py b/IPython/core/tests/test_history.py
index 3d499cd..b55a8aa 100644
--- a/IPython/core/tests/test_history.py
+++ b/IPython/core/tests/test_history.py
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ from IPython.core.history import HistoryManager, extract_hist_ranges
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
 
 def setUp():
-    nt.assert_equal(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(), "utf-8" if py3compat.PY3 else "ascii")
+    nt.assert_equal(sys.getdefaultencoding(), "utf-8" if py3compat.PY3 else "ascii")
 
 def test_history():
     ip = get_ipython()
diff --git a/IPython/external/pyparsing/_pyparsing.py b/IPython/external/pyparsing/_pyparsing.py
index 0218a99..a4f0c3b 100644
--- a/IPython/external/pyparsing/_pyparsing.py
+++ b/IPython/external/pyparsing/_pyparsing.py
@@ -128,9 +128,9 @@ if not _PY3K:
             return unicode(obj)
             # Else encode it... but how? There are many choices... :)
             # Replace unprintables with escape codes?
-            #return unicode(obj).encode(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(), 'backslashreplace_errors')
+            #return unicode(obj).encode(sys.getdefaultencoding(), 'backslashreplace_errors')
             # Replace unprintables with question marks?
-            #return unicode(obj).encode(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(), 'replace')
+            #return unicode(obj).encode(sys.getdefaultencoding(), 'replace')
             # ...
 else:
     _ustr = str
diff --git a/IPython/frontend/terminal/interactiveshell.py b/IPython/frontend/terminal/interactiveshell.py
index 42fbcfe..49c88dd 100644
--- a/IPython/frontend/terminal/interactiveshell.py
+++ b/IPython/frontend/terminal/interactiveshell.py
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ from IPython.core.usage import interactive_usage, default_banner
 from IPython.core.interactiveshell import InteractiveShell, InteractiveShellABC
 from IPython.core.pylabtools import pylab_activate
 from IPython.testing.skipdoctest import skip_doctest
+from IPython.utils.encoding import get_stream_enc
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
 from IPython.utils.terminal import toggle_set_term_title, set_term_title
 from IPython.utils.process import abbrev_cwd
@@ -319,7 +320,7 @@ class TerminalInteractiveShell(InteractiveShell):
 
         for i in range(hlen - hlen_before_cell):
             self.readline.remove_history_item(hlen - i - 1)
-        stdin_encoding = py3compat.get_stream_enc(sys.stdin, 'utf-8')
+        stdin_encoding = get_stream_enc(sys.stdin, 'utf-8')
         self.readline.add_history(py3compat.unicode_to_str(source_raw.rstrip(),
                                     stdin_encoding))
         return self.readline.get_current_history_length()
diff --git a/IPython/testing/tools.py b/IPython/testing/tools.py
index ef07f78..326a8b7 100644
--- a/IPython/testing/tools.py
+++ b/IPython/testing/tools.py
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ from IPython.utils.process import find_cmd, getoutputerror
 from IPython.utils.text import list_strings
 from IPython.utils.io import temp_pyfile, Tee
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 
 from . import decorators as dec
 from . import skipdoctest
@@ -322,7 +323,7 @@ else:
     # so we need a class that can handle both.
     class MyStringIO(StringIO):
         def write(self, s):
-            s = py3compat.cast_unicode(s, encoding=py3compat.getdefaultencoding())
+            s = py3compat.cast_unicode(s, encoding=getdefaultencoding())
             super(MyStringIO, self).write(s)
 
 notprinted_msg = """Did not find {0!r} in printed output (on {1}):
diff --git a/IPython/utils/_process_posix.py b/IPython/utils/_process_posix.py
index d774fda..57fb1bf 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/_process_posix.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/_process_posix.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ from .autoattr import auto_attr
 from ._process_common import getoutput, arg_split
 from IPython.utils import text
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Function definitions
@@ -128,7 +129,7 @@ class ProcessHandler(object):
         int : child's exitstatus
         """
         # Get likely encoding for the output.
-        enc = py3compat.getdefaultencoding()
+        enc = getdefaultencoding()
         
         # Patterns to match on the output, for pexpect.  We read input and
         # allow either a short timeout or EOF
diff --git a/IPython/utils/encoding.py b/IPython/utils/encoding.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..add75e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/IPython/utils/encoding.py
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# coding: utf-8
+"""
+Utilities for dealing with text encodings
+"""
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#  Copyright (C) 2008-2012  The IPython Development Team
+#
+#  Distributed under the terms of the BSD License.  The full license is in
+#  the file COPYING, distributed as part of this software.
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Imports
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+import sys
+import locale
+
+# to deal with the possibility of sys.std* not being a stream at all
+def get_stream_enc(stream, default=None):
+    """Return the given stream's encoding or a default.
+
+    There are cases where sys.std* might not actually be a stream, so
+    check for the encoding attribute prior to returning it, and return
+    a default if it doesn't exist or evaluates as False. `default'
+    is None if not provided.
+    """
+    if not hasattr(stream, 'encoding') or not stream.encoding:
+        return default
+    else:
+        return stream.encoding
+
+# Less conservative replacement for sys.getdefaultencoding, that will try
+# to match the environment.
+# Defined here as central function, so if we find better choices, we
+# won't need to make changes all over IPython.
+def getdefaultencoding():
+    """Return IPython's guess for the default encoding for bytes as text.
+
+    Asks for stdin.encoding first, to match the calling Terminal, but that
+    is often None for subprocesses.  Fall back on locale.getpreferredencoding()
+    which should be a sensible platform default (that respects LANG environment),
+    and finally to sys.getdefaultencoding() which is the most conservative option,
+    and usually ASCII.
+    """
+    enc = get_stream_enc(sys.stdin)
+    if not enc or enc=='ascii':
+        try:
+            # There are reports of getpreferredencoding raising errors
+            # in some cases, which may well be fixed, but let's be conservative here.
+            enc = locale.getpreferredencoding()
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+    return enc or sys.getdefaultencoding()
diff --git a/IPython/utils/jsonutil.py b/IPython/utils/jsonutil.py
index b4bdd95..77ace4f 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/jsonutil.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/jsonutil.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import types
 from datetime import datetime
 
 from IPython.utils import py3compat
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 from IPython.utils import text
 next_attr_name = '__next__' if py3compat.PY3 else 'next'
 
@@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ def json_clean(obj):
         return obj
     
     if isinstance(obj, bytes):
-        return obj.decode(py3compat.getdefaultencoding(), 'replace')
+        return obj.decode(getdefaultencoding(), 'replace')
     
     if isinstance(obj, container_to_list) or (
         hasattr(obj, '__iter__') and hasattr(obj, next_attr_name)):
diff --git a/IPython/utils/py3compat.py b/IPython/utils/py3compat.py
index 4115645..3588a3a 100644
--- a/IPython/utils/py3compat.py
+++ b/IPython/utils/py3compat.py
@@ -5,43 +5,14 @@ import functools
 import sys
 import re
 import types
-import locale
+
+from IPython.utils.encoding import getdefaultencoding
 
 orig_open = open
 
 def no_code(x, encoding=None):
     return x
 
-# to deal with the possibility of sys.std* not being a stream at all
-def get_stream_enc(stream, default=None):
-    if not hasattr(stream, 'encoding') or not stream.encoding:
-        return default
-    else:
-        return stream.encoding
-
-# Less conservative replacement for sys.getdefaultencoding, that will try
-# to match the environment.
-# Defined here as central function, so if we find better choices, we
-# won't need to make changes all over IPython.
-def getdefaultencoding():
-    """Return IPython's guess for the default encoding for bytes as text.
-
-    Asks for stdin.encoding first, to match the calling Terminal, but that
-    is often None for subprocesses.  Fall back on locale.getpreferredencoding()
-    which should be a sensible platform default (that respects LANG environment),
-    and finally to sys.getdefaultencoding() which is the most conservative option,
-    and usually ASCII.
-    """
-    enc = get_stream_enc(sys.stdin)
-    if not enc or enc=='ascii':
-        try:
-            # There are reports of getpreferredencoding raising errors
-            # in some cases, which may well be fixed, but let's be conservative here.
-            enc = locale.getpreferredencoding()
-        except Exception:
-            pass
-    return enc or sys.getdefaultencoding()
-
 def decode(s, encoding=None):
     encoding = encoding or getdefaultencoding()
     return s.decode(encoding, "replace")
diff --git a/IPython/zmq/iostream.py b/IPython/zmq/iostream.py
index 6b43225..984e6c2 100644
--- a/IPython/zmq/iostream.py
+++ b/IPython/zmq/iostream.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ from io import StringIO
 
 from session import extract_header, Message
 
-from IPython.utils import io, text, py3compat
+from IPython.utils import io, text, encoding
 
 #-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Globals
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class OutStream(object):
         else:
             # Make sure that we're handling unicode
             if not isinstance(string, unicode):
-                enc = py3compat.getdefaultencoding()
+                enc = encoding.getdefaultencoding()
                 string = string.decode(enc, 'replace')
             
             self._buffer.write(string)