Names: abbreviations
name
abbreviation
proper name
phrase-level encoding
name
abbr
expan
persName
Encoding of abbreviated versions of names
Abbreviated names pose special problems for identification and retrieval, and since there are several different modes of abbreviation these are worth treating in some detail.
- shortened versions of names which appear in their full form elsewhere in the text. In these cases the shortening is for convenience and to save space; it often takes the form of a single initial followed by a period or dash (Mr. L., Mr. L--). These should be encoded with persName and a key and/or reg attribute (if you are keying or regularizing names), since they function just like ordinary names. If you wish to display these in full, use abbr with the expanded form as the value of the expan attribute.
- shortened or encrypted names which never appear in full form, where the goal is to appear to conceal (often while transparently revealing) the identity of the referent (General W--sh--t-n); these often appear in political satire. These should also be encoded with persName and a key and/or reg attribute. Again, if you wish to display the full name, use abbr with expan.
- short versions of names which never appear in full form, where the goal is not to refer to any specific person but rather to sketch a generalized person, in the spirit of Mrs. So and So. These may take the form of a dash (Mrs. ---) or there may be an initial (Mrs. L--), but it is clear from the context that the person is imaginary and does not even have a solid fictional existence within the text. We recommend that these not be encoded with persName, since they function more as placeholders than as names; they cannot be keyed or regularized. Since there is no expanded form of the name available, abbr is not very useful (except to signal that the name is an abbreviation).