Foreign Language Material
Foreign-language passages are generally captured, but do not have to be tagged as such (DTABf – level 2).
If foreign language material is to be tagged as such (DTABf – Level 3), this is possible in the <foreign> element. The specification of the language in question is mandatory and is done in the @xml:lang attribute as a three-letter code in accordance with ISO standard 639-3.
<foreign xml:lang="[ISO 639-3 code]">[foreign language text passage]</foreign>
If the language of a foreign-language text passage cannot be defined, @xml:lang contains the value "und" (i. e. "undetermined").
In @xml:lang, exactly one language is generally specified. The nesting of <foreign> elements to tag several languages for a foreign language passage must be avoided. If several languages are valid for a foreign language passage, this is expressed with the value "mul". The languages are not specified in @xml:lang. (However, the space for this specification is provided by the editorial commentary; see chap. Editorial Commentary.)
Encoding of Foreign Language Material
<p>[...] sanskr. iran. griech. umbr. osk.
<hi rendition="#i"><foreign xml:lang="mul">an</foreign></hi> , aber lat.
<hi rendition="#i"><foreign xml:lang="lat">in</foreign></hi> , deutsch
<hi rendition="#i">un</hi> .<lb/>[...]
</p>
Source: Curtius, Georg: Zur Kritik der neuesten Sprachforschung. Leipzig, 1885. [Facsimile 101]
If the entire content of a structuring element consists of foreign language material, this can be displayed within the respective structuring element by the attribute @xml:lang.
Handling Completely Foreign Language Element Content
<titlePage>
[...]
<epigraph>
<cit>
<quote xml:lang="fra">
<hi rendition="#aq">Tel eſt l'effet de la vérité: on la repouſſe; mais<lb/>
en la repouſſant on la voit, & elle pénètre.</hi>
</quote><lb/>
<bibl>
<hi rendition="#et #aq"><hi rendition="#i">Garat le jeune</hi>.</hi>
</bibl>
</cit>
</epigraph>[...]
</titlePage><lb/>
Foreign-language text material that cannot be deciphered or is not (initially) transcribed for other reasons is indicated by the <foreign> element described above. The missing transcription is indicated by a <gap/> element with the note @reason="fm" (see also chap. Illegible or Hardly Decipherable Characters).
<foreign xml:lang="[ISO 639-3 code]"> <gap reason="fm"/> </foreign>
Handling of Non-Cecipherable Foreign Language Material
<p> [...] Plagen/
<foreign xml:lang="ell"><gap reason="fm"/></foreign>
Gesetzt aber/ [...]
</p><lb/>