TEI P4 Beta: Reference Documentation

`<delSpan>` | (deleted span of text) marks the beginning of a longer sequence of text deleted, marked as deleted, or otherwise signaled as superfluous or spurious by an author, scribe, annotator, or corrector.
Attributes: |
`type` | classifies the deletion, using any convenient typology.
| Datatype: CDATA
| Legal values: |
`overstrike` | deletion indicated by line crossing out the text.
`erasure` | deletion indicated by erasure of the text.
`bracketed` | deletion indicated by brackets in the text or margin.
`subpunction` | deletion indicated by dots beneath the letters deleted.
| Default: #IMPLIED
| Example:
`resp` | (responsible) signifies the editor or transcriber responsible for identifying the hand of the deletion.
| Datatype: IDREF
| Values: must be one of the identifiers declared in the document header, associated with a person asserted as responsible for some aspect of the text's creation, transcription, editing or encoding (see chapter 17 ).
| Default: %INHERITED
| Example:
`cert` | (certainty) signifies the degree of certainty ascribed to the identification of the hand of the deletion.
| Datatype: CDATA
| Default: #IMPLIED
| Example:
`hand` | signifies the hand of the agent which made the deletion.
| Datatype: IDREF
| Values: must be one of the hand identifiers declared in the document header (see section 18.2.1 ).
| Default: %INHERITED
| Example:
`to` | identifies the endpoint of the deleted passage, by giving the ID of an `<anchor>` or other element placed there.
| Datatype: IDREF
| Values: any valid SGML identifier, used on a later element.
| Default: #REQUIRED
| Example:
Note | Both the beginning and the end of the deleted material must be marked; the beginning by the `<delSpan>` element itself, the end by the `to` attribute. The element pointed at by `to` is understood to be included within the deleted passage.
`status` | indicates whether the deletion is faulty, e.g. by including too much or too little text.
| Datatype: CDATA
| Legal values: |
`excess start` | some text at the beginning of the deletion is marked as deleted even though it clearly should not be deleted.
`excess end` | some text at the end of the deletion is marked as deleted even though it clearly should not be deleted.
`short start` | some text at the beginning of the deletion is not marked as deleted even though it clearly should be.
`short end` | some text at the end of the deletion is not marked as deleted even though it clearly should be.
`unremarkable` | the deletion is not faulty.
| Default: 'unremarkable'
| Example:
Note | Marking a deletion as faulty is inescapably an interpretive act; the usual test applied in practice is the linguistic acceptability of the text with and without the letters or words in question.

Example

    <p>Paragraph partially deleted.  This is the undeleted
    portion <delSpan resp=author to=a23>and this the deleted
    portion of the paragraph.
    <p>Paragraph deleted together with neighboring material.
    <p>Second fully deleted paragraph.
    <p>Paragraph partially deleted; in the middle of this
    paragraph the deletion ends and the anchor point marks
    the resumption <anchor id=a23> of the text. ...

Note

Both the beginning and ending of the deleted sequence must be marked: the beginning by the `<delSpan>` element, the ending by the target of the `to` attribute.

The text deleted must be at least partially legible, in order for the encoder to be able to transcribe it. If it is not legible at all, the `<delSpan>` tag should not be used. Rather, the `<gap>` tag should be employed to signal that text cannot be transcribed, with the value of the `reason` attribute giving the cause for the omission from the transcription as deletion. If it is not fully legible, the `<unclear>` element should be used to signal the areas of text which cannot be read with confidence. See further sections 18.1.7 and, for the close association of the `<delSpan>` tag with the `<gap>` , `<damage>` , `<unclear>` and `<supplied>` elements, 18.2.4 .

The `<delSpan>` tag should not be used for deletions made by editors or encoders. In these cases, either the `<corr>` tag or the `<gap>` tag should be used.

Tagset additional tag set for text criticism
Class editIncl [and indirectly also:] globincl
Filename `teitran2`
Content: May contain character data and phrase-level elements.
Parents [none]
Children [none]
Declaration

    <!ELEMENT delSpan       - O  EMPTY                              >
    <!ATTLIST delSpan            %a.global
              type               CDATA               #IMPLIED
              resp               IDREF               %INHERITED

              cert               CDATA               #IMPLIED
              hand               IDREF               %INHERITED

              to                 IDREF               #REQUIRED
              status             CDATA               'unremarkable' >

See 18.1.4

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