diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/csv/Lexer.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/csv/Lexer.java
index 8494dd1f..913e89ae 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/csv/Lexer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/commons/csv/Lexer.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ import java.io.Closeable;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
 /**
- *
+ * Lexical analyzer. 
  *
  * @version $Id$
  */
@@ -301,6 +301,15 @@ final class Lexer implements Closeable {
         return reader.getCurrentLineNumber();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the current character position
+     *
+     * @return the current character position
+     */
+    long getCharacterPosition() {
+        return reader.getPosition();
+    }
+
     // TODO escape handling needs more work
     /**
      * Handle an escape sequence.