## Text Encoding Initiative

### The XML Version of the TEI Guidelines

# <foreign>

`<foreign>` | (foreign) identifies a word or phrase as belonging to some language other than that of the surrounding text.

Example

    This is heathen Greek to you still?
    Your <foreign lang="lat">lapis philosophicus</foreign>?

Note

The global `lang` attribute should be supplied for this element to identify the language of the word or phrase marked. As elsewhere its value should indicate a language code (associated with some writing system declaration) for the language in question; where applicable, the codes of ISO 639 may be used. It is strongly recommended that the `lang` attribute be consistently specified on all `<foreign>` elements.

This element is intended for use only where no other element is available to mark the phrase or words concerned. The global `lang` attribute should be used in preference to this element where it is intended to mark the language of the whole of some text element.

The `<distinct>` element may be used to identify phrases belonging to sublanguages or registers not generally regarded as true languages.

Module | Declared in file teicore2; Core tag sets: enabled when any TEI base is enabled
Class | hqphrase
Data Description | free prose

May contain

#PCDATA abbr add addSpan address alt altGrp anchor app bibl biblFull biblStruct c caesura camera caption castList cb certainty cit cl corr damage date dateRange dateStruct del delSpan distinct emph expan fLib figure foreign formula fs fsLib fvLib fw gap geogName gloss handShift hi index interp interpGrp join joinGrp label lang lb link linkGrp list listBibl m measure mentioned milestone move name note num oRef oVar orgName orig pRef pVar pb persName phr placeName ptr q quote ref reg respons restore rs s seg sic soCalled sound space span spanGrp stage supplied table tech term text time timeRange timeStruct timeline title unclear view w witDetail xptr xref

May occur within

ab abbr activity actor add addName addrLine admin affiliation author authority bibl biblScope birth bloc byline camera caption case castItem catDesc cell channel cl classCode closer colloc constitution corr country creation damage date dateRange def del derivation descrip dictScrap distance distinct distributor docAuthor docDate docEdition docImprint domain edition editor education emph entryFree etym expan extent factuality figDesc firstLang foreName foreign form funder fw gen genName gloss gram gramGrp head headItem headLabel hi hyph imprimatur interaction item itype l label lang langKnown language lbl lem locale measure meeting mentioned mood name nameLink note num number occasion occupation opener orgDivn orgName orgTitle orgType orig orth otherForm p per persName phr placeName pos preparedness principal pron pubPlace publisher purpose q quote rdg re ref reg region rendition residence resp restore role roleDesc roleName rs s salute seg sense settlement sic signed soCalled socecStatus sound speaker sponsor stage street stress subc supplied surname syll symbol tagUsage tech term time timeRange title titlePart tns tr trailer trans u unclear usg view wit witDetail witness writing xr xref

Declaration

    <!ELEMENT foreign %om.RR; %paraContent;>
    <!ATTLIST foreign
          %a.global;>

See further | 6.3.2.1 Foreign Words or Expressions

Up: 35 Elements