[sebxt]

When a document is parsed with symbolize_names: true, the object keys recorded for json_path are Symbols. Since #1113, build_json_path calls valid_encoding? on each key segment, which Symbol does not implement, so error.json_path raised NoMethodError instead of returning the path:

JSON.parse('{"a": [1, {"b": xyz}]}', symbolize_names: true)
# error.json_path => NoMethodError: undefined method 'valid_encoding?' for an instance of Symbol

This converts the segment to a String before the encoding and identifier checks. A test covers a nested path, a quoted key and a nested duplicate key with symbolize_names: true. A CHANGES.md entry is included.

Fixes #1117