Regularizing the Text
A. Abbreviations
<choice><abbr></abbr><expan></expan></choice>
can be used to simultaneously record an abbreviation and provide its resolution, as in:
<choice><abbr>1st</abbr><expan>first</expan></choice>
If the letters st in this example actually appeared in raised script in the original, we would document that as follows:
<choice><abbr>1<hi style="superscript">st</hi></abbr><expan>first</expan></choice>
As a general rule, we will resolve all abbreviations.
B. Misspellings
<choice><sic></sic><corr></corr></choice>
can be used to simultaneously record and correct a misspelling (a misused homonym, a word spelled incorrectly, etc.):
We had some very nice <choice><sic>whether</sic><corr>weather</corr></choice> last week.
or
Lisa's dog is partly <choice><sic>Dauchshound</sic><corr>Dachshund</corr></choice>, I think.
C. Archaic/Obsolete spellings
<choice><orig></orig><reg></reg></choice>
can be used to modernize a correct, but obsolete, spelling. If you are working with a text in English, you may not have occasion to do this. Those working with texts in Spanish related to colonial Florida will, however.
D. Capital letters
We will respect the use of lower case/upper case letters in our transcription, but will regularize these in the edition, using
<choice><orig></orig><reg></reg></choice>
We will replace here the entire word needing a change in capitalization, not merely the individual letter or letters.
E. Punctuation
The following sequences of elements can be used to regularize punctuation:
removing comma: <choice><orig>,</orig><reg/></choice>
removing period: <choice><orig>.</orig><reg/></choice>
adding comma: <choice><orig/><reg>,</reg></choice>
adding period:
<choice><orig/><reg>.</reg></choice>
changing comma to period: <choice><orig>,</orig><reg>.</reg></choice>
changing period to comma:
<choice><orig>.</orig><reg>,</reg></choice>
replacing semicolon with comma: <choice><orig>;</orig><reg>,</reg></choice>