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<name-alternatives> Name Alternatives

Container element for more than one version of a personal name, the element <name> (for example, the name written in both Japanese Kana characters and the Latin alphabet).

Usage/Remarks

The <name-alternatives> element is intended to collect multiple versions of a single name without appearing to multiply the number of names. (Three versions of a author name is not the same as three different contributors.) Like the element <alternatives>, which is a similar construction for objects such as graphics, an application must determine how multiple versions of a single name are to be processed. The @specific-use, @content-type, and @xml:lang attributes can be used to distinguish the cases for separate processing.
Use Examples
The <name-alternatives> element can be used to record:
  • A name in multiple languages (For example, a name in Korean or Chinese-Han characters and a transliterated version of the same name in the Latin alphabet);
  • A name in multiple language/script combinations (For example, a name in Japanese [@xml:lang="ja-Jpan" for Han + Hiragana + Katakana] and the same name written in Kanji [@xml:lang="ja-Hani"]);
  • An alternate name for sorting or searching (For example, a name in French with accented letters [such as an “é”] and a plain-letter lower-ASCII version of the same name with “é” replaced by “e” for sorting. The @specific-use attribute can be used to indicate that the ASCII version is only for sort, not for display.);
  • An alternate name for indexing (For example, a publisher may choose to record name variants for an individual, as examples: a nickname, author-pseudonym, maiden name, religious name, or tribal name. The attribute @specific-use could be used to record the rationale for the name variant, such as “primary”, “index”, or “table-of-contents”. Alternatively, or in addition, the attribute @content-type could be used to record the type of name variant, such as “nickname”, “maiden-name”, or “pseudonym”, etc.);
  • A version of the name in a different arrangement (For example, since the order of the <surname> and <given-names> is fixed in JATS, a publisher might also wish to record a byline-style version of the name in given-surname order and could use a <string-name> of @content-type="byline" to accompany the name inside an <name-alternatives> element.); or
  • Both validated and known-to-be-incorrect names. (For example, in the PubMed DTD, there is an attribute called “ValidYN” [valid yes or no], that can be used to record the fact that one version of a name was received, found to be in error, and then corrected. An application might be set up to display only the corrected version, while both name variants might be retained for searching or quality control. In JATS, this information can be recorded as two <name> elements inside a <name-alternatives> wrapper, with the @content-type attribute used to distinguish the correct from the incorrect.)
ID Attribute
The names inside a <name-alternatives> do not generally have a unique identifier because they are all the same name. This Tag Set assumes that any necessary unique identifier will be placed on the enclosing element (such as the <contrib> element or the <principal-investigator> element) that contains the <name-alternatives> wrapper.

String Name Best Practice

Both <name> and <string-name> are allowed inside <name-alternatives>. However, for this Tag Set, the <string-name> within a <name-alternatives> should not be used for the primary name. The primary name should be tagged with a <name> element. Within a <name-alternatives>, the element <string-name> can be used to hold, for example, an undifferentiated transliteration (one not tagged with specific name elements such as <surname>) or a search-specific name.
Attributes

Base Attributes

id
xml:base
Models and Context
May be contained in
<contrib>, <element-citation>, <mixed-citation>, <person-group>, <principal-award-recipient>, <principal-investigator>, <product>, <related-article>, <related-object>
Description
Any one of:
Content Model
<!ELEMENT  name-alternatives
                        %name-alternatives-model;                    >
Expanded Content Model

((name | string-name)+)

Tagged Samples
Name in two languages 
...  
<name-alternatives>
 <name name-style="western"><surname>Chu</surname>
  <given-names>J. H.</given-names></name>
 <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">褚君浩</string-name>
</name-alternatives>
...
Authors in two languages 
...
<contrib-group>
 <contrib contrib-type="author">  
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Zhang</surname>
    <given-names>Y. P.</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">张轶泼</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
  
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Isobe</surname>
    <given-names>M.</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">磯部光孝</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
  
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="western"><surname>Liu</surname>
    <given-names>Yi</given-names></name>
   <string-name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="zh">刘仪</string-name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
Alternative scripts 
...
<contrib-group> 
 <contrib contrib-type="author">
  <name-alternatives>
   <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Jpan">
    <surname>中西</surname>
    <given-names>秀彦</given-names>
   </name>
   <name name-style="western" xml:lang="en">
    <surname>Nakanishi</surname>
    <given-names>Hidehiko</given-names>
   </name>
   <name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ja-Kana">
    <surname>ナカニシ</surname>
    <given-names>ヒデヒコ</given-names>
   </name>
  </name-alternatives>
 </contrib>
</contrib-group>
...
<string-name> 
...
<name-alternatives>
  <string-name content-type="display">
    <given-names>Le Thi Tuyet</given-names> <surname>Lan</surname>
  </string-name>
  <string-name content-type="index">
    <surname>Lan</surname> <given-names>Le TT</given-names>
  </string-name>
</name-alternatives>
...
For indexing (Hispanic) 
...
<name-alternatives>
 <name content-type="display">
  <surname initials="S">S&#225;nchez P&#233;rez-Castej&#243;n</surname>
  <given-names>Pedro</given-names>
 </name>
 <name content-type="index">
  <surname>S&#225;nchez</surname>
  <given-names>Pedro</given-names>
 </name>
</name-alternatives>
...
Ethiopian name with abbreviated surname 
...
<name-alternatives>
 <name content-type="display">
  <surname>G/Selassie</surname>
  <given-names>Getachew</given-names>
 </name>
 <name content-type="index">
  <surname>Gebreselassie</surname>
  <given-names>Getachew</given-names>
 </name>
</name-alternatives>
...
Related Resources