Emphasis or Italic for Language

ghostyjack · 11-02-2010, 05:31 AM

I've got lots of books that have characters speaking words from another language.

Frequently these words are displayed in italised text (which I believe is correct).

What I'm wondering is: should they be marked in italic or emphasis tags in the markup?

Jellby · 11-02-2010, 09:35 AM

Ideally, you'd use none, but something like this:

Code:

<p>He said <span xml:lang="fr">au revoir</span>.</p>

with:

Code:

span:lang(fr) { font-style: italic; }

which would help a text-to-speech system choose the right pronunciation, or a reading system choose the right dictionary...

ghostyjack · 11-02-2010, 10:33 AM

That's fine for an actual language, but what happens if it is a fictional language used in the book. I don't see this technique working for it.

Example: Tolkien's Middle-Earth books ("Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", etc) uses several fictional languages.

What would be the best way of displaying them?

If I use no tags, then how do I convey to the reader that the language has changed?

Elfwreck · 11-02-2010, 10:46 AM

Same method; you just use the name of the fictional language. Lang="quenya" or lang="klingon" or whatever. Or xml:lang="other", and set "other" to show as italic. Read-aloud software won't be able to give it any special treatment, but it'll know it's a language, and it'll show up as italic on the screen.

11-02-2010, 05:31 AM	#1
ghostyjack Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 1085610 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, England Device: PRS-T1, 1825PT, Galaxy Tab, One X, TF700T, Aura HD, Nexus 7	Emphasis or Italic for Language I've got lots of books that have characters speaking words from another language. Frequently these words are displayed in italised text (which I believe is correct). What I'm wondering is: should they be marked in italic or emphasis tags in the markup?

11-02-2010, 09:35 AM	#2
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,516 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	Ideally, you'd use none, but something like this: Code: <p>He said <span xml:lang="fr">au revoir</span>.</p> with: Code: span:lang(fr) { font-style: italic; } which would help a text-to-speech system choose the right pronunciation, or a reading system choose the right dictionary...

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11-02-2010, 10:33 AM	#3
ghostyjack Guru Posts: 718 Karma: 1085610 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bristol, England Device: PRS-T1, 1825PT, Galaxy Tab, One X, TF700T, Aura HD, Nexus 7	That's fine for an actual language, but what happens if it is a fictional language used in the book. I don't see this technique working for it. Example: Tolkien's Middle-Earth books ("Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", "The Silmarillion", etc) uses several fictional languages. What would be the best way of displaying them? If I use no tags, then how do I convey to the reader that the language has changed?

11-02-2010, 10:46 AM	#4
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,185 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	Same method; you just use the name of the fictional language. Lang="quenya" or lang="klingon" or whatever. Or xml:lang="other", and set "other" to show as italic. Read-aloud software won't be able to give it any special treatment, but it'll know it's a language, and it'll show up as italic on the screen.

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