Basic Structure of Encoding of Editorial Changes
Editorial changes, in which text variants for specific spellings of the original are specified, are listed in the <choice> element. The <choice> element can contain various subelements that specify the type of the change. These are explained in the following chapters.
The <choice> element is basically available for the annotation of spellings of the original and related alternative spellings given by the editor. This means that <choice> must always contain at least two subelements.
Width of the <choice> Element
In general, editorial changes are carried out at the word level, i. e. the annotation using the <choice> element always refers to a complete word. The <choice> element can also extend beyond the margin of the line.
Except for the <lb> element, there is no additional material in the <lb> element, i. e. it does not extend beyond the margin, over annotations, illustrations, etc.
If a correction refers to words that are interrupted by "uninvolved" material on the page, only the part of the word affected by the editorial change is dealt with in <choice>.
The other way round, the <choice> element can enclose several words at the same time if the editorial change refers to separate or compound spelling. In this case, all the words involved are included in the <choice> element.