I think, split can't handle that easily.

If you can't (everyone can) go the suggested route of using a propper module, please bear in mind that a quote inside quotes might appear and so has to be escaped somehow.

So you have to find out how this escaping is done. Some application double them ("this is a 24"" monitor"), some might use backslashes ('can\'t open file') or even go the "shell way" ('this ain'\''t cool').