without heavy scientific analysis, this seems to work as a quick fix to making text originating from a Microsoft Word document display as HTML:

<?php
function DoHTMLEntities ($string)
    {
        $trans_tbl = get_html_translation_table (HTML_ENTITIES);
        
        // MS Word strangeness.. 
        // smart single/ double quotes:
        $trans_tbl[chr(145)] = '\''; 
        $trans_tbl[chr(146)] = '\''; 
        $trans_tbl[chr(147)] = '&quot;'; 
        $trans_tbl[chr(148)] = '&quot;'; 

                // Acute 'e'
        $trans_tbl[chr(142)] = '&eacute;';
        
        return strtr ($string, $trans_tbl);
    }
?>