TEI P4 Beta: Reference Documentation

`<direction>` | specifies one or more conventional directions in which a language is written using a given script.
Attributes: |
`chars` | (characters) indicates the order in which characters within a line are conventionally presented in this writing system
| Datatype: CDATA
| Legal values: |
`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
| Legal values: |
`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'>
     <characters><!-- ... --></characters>
    </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'>
     <!-- Japanese can, in effect, be written in any direction. -->
     <!-- Individual documents may, but need not, mix the       -->
     <!-- various directions.                                   -->
     <characters><!-- ... --></characters>
    </writingSystemDeclaration>

Example

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'>
     <!-- Japanese can, in effect, be written in any direction. -->
     <!-- Individual documents may, but need not, mix the       -->
     <!-- various directions.                                   -->
     <characters><!-- ... --></characters>
    </writingSystemDeclaration>

Example

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. [ see note 133 ]

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.

Tagset auxiliary tag set for writing system declarations
Class
Filename `teiwsd2`
Content: Empty.
Parents writingSystemDeclaration
Children [none]
Declaration

    <!ELEMENT direction     - O  EMPTY                              >
    <!ATTLIST direction          %a.global
              chars              CDATA               #REQUIRED
              lines              CDATA               #REQUIRED      >

See 25.3 ; 25.1

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