Quotations: distinction between q and quote
Encoding of quotations, distinction between use of q and quote, treatment of quotation marks
The TEI’s treatment of quotations is slightly confusing: it provides two elements (q and quote), but in TEI Lite only q is included. This has resulted in the widespread use of q to cover the function of both q and quote. We recommend distinguishing between the two, as recommended in the TEI Guidelines, as follows:
- quote should be used to encode material which the text identifies as originating outside of itself, or which a speaker within the text identifies as originating outside of his/her current utterance, including proverbs, mottoes, sayings, etc.
- q should be used to encode direct speech or reported thought.
In some cases, both of these phenomena may intersect, and both q and quote may be needed, where a speaker quotes material from outside the text, as shown in Example 4.
In addition to these two elements, there is an element called quotation, which is used within the TEI header to describe how the presentation of quotations is handled in transcription. It should not be confused with either of the elements discussed here; since it is not valid within running prose, it does not cause confusion in practice, but if you are reading the index to the TEI Guidelines and see it listed, it may seem somewhat bizarre.
Examples
Example 1. Direct speech encoded with q:
<q rend="pre(&ldquo;)post(&rdquo;)">Bless me!</q> he said, looking about him, <q rend="pre(&ldquo;)post(&rdquo;)">I never did.</q>
Example 2. Quoted material encoded with quote:
<p>If we reflect whether <quote rend="slant(italic)">to be, or not to be</quote>, we are surely lost.</p>
Example 3. Quotations whose status is uncertain should still be encoded with quote:
<p>I then spoke to him plainly, saying <q rend="pre(&ldquo;) post(&rdquo;)">If I were in your shoes, I would not <quote rend="pre(&lsquo;) post(&rsquo;)">taunt the chicken</quote> with such vainglory.</q></p>
We encode this with quote even though we have no idea where the phrase "taunt the chicken" comes from. (Note that this usage would need to be carefully distinguished from gloss or term, which would be appropriate if it seemed that the phrase in question was a technical term rather than a quotation.)
Example 4. quote nested inside q
<p>He shouted suddenly <q><quote>To be, or not to be!</quote></q>.</p>