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Re: [xsl] XSLT (2) namespace safe i18n patterns

2009-11-24 09:29:58
[While I still maintain that this conversation is a bit off-topic, it
 is interesting.]

Hmmm ... 

I agree with Florent Georges -- if BCP 47 tags are sufficient, one
should use xml:lang=. The TEI work-group studying this area in 2003
came up with the exact opposite recommendation than that of Andrew
Welch -- that is, when TEI went from P4 to P5, we decided to
recommended use of xml:lang= over tei:lang=, *even though* there is
more power and flexibility to tei:lang=. Thus TEI P5 relies on
xml:lang=.

It is worth mentioning that this was not a unanimous decision, and
I'm not 100% sure we'd decide the same thing today (although I think
it likely). This was an interesting enough topic that I presented a
paper about it at ALLC/ACH 2003 in Göteborg, Sweden. The paper
was called "TEI: 'xml:lang= sucks, let's use it anyway!', but I just
found that the website for that conference is no longer available. If
anyone would like a copy of the paper (in TEI P4), I'm happy to send
it along.

One thing worth keeping in mind, though, is that for the typical TEI
use case, translation tables are completely out of the question. TEI
is primarily about transcribing extant source materials, so its goal
is to record what was written on the page, giving the user some extra
information about what natural language a scholar believes is being
used. The goal is not to provide translations for different audiences
(although TEI is sometimes used that way, too).

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