Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers
To generate the set of disinflection rules for the dictionary, the input must include some information about the inflections. There are two ways to provide this information: simplified inflection syntax and advanced inflection syntax.
7.3.1 Advanced inflection syntax
Inflections are handled by the inflection index, which is built into the dictionary based on the inflected forms which are tagged in the content using the
<idx:infl>
tag. Inflections are attached to the orthography of the entry. They must be specified inside of an
<idx:orth>
tag. If an entry has multiple orthographies, each must have its own inflections.
Example:
<idx:orth>record
<idx:infl inflgrp="noun">
<idx:iform name="plural" value="records" />
</idx:infl>
<idx:infl inflgrp="verb">
<idx:iform name="present participle" value="recording" />
<idx:iform name="past participle" value="recorded" />
<idx:iform name="present 3ps" value="records" />
</idx:infl>
</idx:orth>
The inflgrp
and name
attributes are optional. The idx:infl
, idx:iform
, and value
attributes are mandatory.
7.3.2 Simplified inflection syntax
For English dictionaries, simplified inflection syntax is a very simple way of giving information about the inflections. Previous versions of the file format supported using the infl
attribute in either the
<idx:orth>
or the
<idx:gramgrp>
tag and specifying a comma-separated list of inflected forms. This syntax is now deprecated, as it is not as accurate when disinflecting, particularly for non-English languages.
7.4 Building a Dictionary with Kindlegen
When building a dictionary with Kindlegen via the command line, use the following syntax: kindlegen.exe [filename.opf] -c2 -verbose
7.5 Testing Kindle Dictionaries
7.5.1 Format Testing
This component of dictionary testing ensures that the dictionary is formatted well and provides a good visual experience.
Check the formatting of the definitions by paging through the dictionary and reading several definitions.
This can be done on the Kindle Previewer or on any device. Amazon recommends:
• Horizontal rules between each definition.
• Check words for unsupported characters, broken or joined words, proper display of accented characters, symbols, pronunciation guide, etc.
• Start each new alphabet/letter section on a new page.
• The headword (word being defined) should come first, and be distinguished somehow (on its own line, in bold, etc.)
• Check that there are no typos.
• Check that links (if present) are working correctly.
• Check that images (if present) are clear and readable.
• Avoid using tables unless absolutely necessary.
Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 54
