specifies one or more conventional directions in which a language
is written using a given script.
Attributes
(In addition to global attributes)
chars
(characters)
indicates the order in which characters within a line are
conventionally presented in this writing system
Datatype: CDATA
Suggested values include:
LR
left to right
RL
right to left
TB
top to bottom
BT
bottom to top
Default: #REQUIRED
Note
If the characters follow each other in some order other than
top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, or right-to-left, then some
value other than those indicated should be used.
lines
indicates the order in which lines conventionally follow each
other in this writing system.
Datatype: CDATA
Suggested values include:
TB
top to bottom
BT
bottom to top
LR
left to right
RL
right to left
Default: #REQUIRED
Note
If the lines follow each other in some order other than
top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, or right-to-left, then some
value other than those indicated should be used.
Example
<writingSystemDeclaration lang="eng" id="DEU"
name="-//TEI P2: 1993//WSD Modern German//en" date="1993-06-01">
<language iso639="deu">New High German</language>
<script>Latin script with diacritics.</script>
<direction chars="LR" lines="TB"/>
<!-- ... -->
</writingSystemDeclaration>
Example
If more than one direction is specified, it means that the script in
question may be written in any of the directions named. In some cases,
the directions may be mixed within a single document, in others not; no
information is given on this point by the writing system declaration, as
it is not usefully formalizable. Experts on the script must be
consulted for details. The following example shows one way to declare
that a script may be written in any horizontal or vertical
direction:
<writingSystemDeclaration lang="eng" id="JPN"
name="-//TEI P2: 1993//WSD JIS 0208//en" date="1993-06-01">
<language iso639="jpn">Modern Japanese</language>
<script>normal Japanese writing, with mixture of hiragana,
katakana, and kanji.</script>
<direction chars="LR" lines="TB"/>
<direction chars="RL" lines="TB"/>
<direction chars="LR" lines="BT"/>
<direction chars="RL" lines="BT"/>
<direction chars="TB" lines="LR"/>
<direction chars="BT" lines="LR"/>
<direction chars="TB" lines="RL"/>
<direction chars="BT" lines="RL"/>
</writingSystemDeclaration>
The following example shows another way to specify that a script may
be written in any horizontal or vertical direction:
<writingSystemDeclaration lang="eng" id="JPN"
name="//TEI P2: 1993//WSD JIS 0208//en" date="1993-06-01">
<language iso639="jpn">Modern Japanese</language>
<script>normal Japanese, with mixture of hiragana, katakana,
and kanji.</script>
<direction chars="LR RL" lines="TB BT"/>
<direction chars="TB BT" lines="LR RL"/>
</writingSystemDeclaration>
In some cases, the lines and chars attributes
may need to take special values. Some scripts are written in
`boustrophedon' (turning back and forth): i.e. one
line is written left to right, the next right to left, and so on. Such
a writing system might have its direction declared as shown:
<direction chars="boustrophedon: LR, then RL, then LR, etc."
lines="TB"/>
Note
This element describes conventional presentation; all
scripts are subject to unusual treatment in special circumstances, and
such unusual directions need not be described here. The treatment of
numerals in Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic script, being well understood,
need not be documented separately here.188
The <direction> element is informational only, not normative.
It is intended to alert those responsible for implementing support for a
given writing system to an essential fact of how it is written. If only
a single direction is specified, it is safe to infer that the script may
legitimately be presented in that direction. If multiple directions are
specified, it may be legitimate to present text in any one of them, or
it may be necessary to support multiple directions in display of a
single document. If the latter, then changes of direction should be
given using the global rend attribute.
If no direction element is given, the only safe assumption is that
any direction is possible and experts must be consulted before
attempting to implement support for the writing system.
Module
Declared in file teiwsd2; Auxiliary tag set for Writing System Declarations
Data Description
Empty.
May occur within
Declaration
<!ELEMENT direction %om.RO; EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST direction
%a.global;
chars CDATA #REQUIRED
lines CDATA #REQUIRED>