<p>The <strong class=html>I</strong> element suggests that text be rendered as <em>italic text</em>. In most cases, use of a <a href="../phrase/">phrase element</a> such as <strong class=html><a href="../phrase/em.html">EM</a></strong>, <strong class=html><a href="../phrase/dfn.html">DFN</a></strong>, <strong class=html><a href="../phrase/var.html">VAR</a></strong>, or <strong class=html><a href="../phrase/cite.html">CITE</a></strong> is more appropriate since these elements express the <em>meaning</em> of the text more clearly.</p>
<p>The <strong class=html>I</strong> element is a suitable choice for marking a structure for which no <a href="../phrase/index.html">phrase element</a> exists. For example, foreign phrases and taxonomic names have no structural element in HTMLá4.0, but italic text is often an appropriate visual rendering:</p>
<p class=example><code class=html><H1><strong><I LANG=fr><span lang=fr>Chacun son go√tá!</span></I></strong></H1><br><P>Some people prefer dogs--<strong><I CLASS=species>Canis familiaris</I></strong>--while others are eternal lovers of cats--<strong><I CLASS=species>Felis cattus</I></strong>.</code></p>
<p>Note the use of the <a href="../attrs.html#class">CLASS</a> and <a href="../attrs.html#lang">LANG</a> attributes to add structural significance to the <strong class=html>I</strong> elements. This allows greater flexibility when applying <a href="http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/">style sheets</a> to different kinds of italic text.</p>
<h2>More Information</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/present/graphics.html#edef-I">I in <abbr class=initialism title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</abbr> HTMLá4.0 Recommendation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html32#font-style">I in <abbr class=initialism title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</abbr> HTMLá3.2 Recommendation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html-spec/html-spec_5.html#SEC5.7.2.2">I in HTMLá2.0 Standard</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/wilbur/font/i.html">I in <abbr class=initialism title="Web Design Group">WDG</abbr> HTMLá3.2 Reference</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hut.fi/u/jkorpela/HTML3.2/5.30.html">I in <cite>Learning HTMLá3.2 by Examples</cite></a></li>
</ul>
<div class=footer>
<address>Maintained by <a href="http://www.htmlhelp.com/%7Eliam/">Liam Quinn</a> <<a href="mailto:liam@htmlhelp.com">liam@htmlhelp.com</a>></address>