Footnote

A footnote is an "explanatory note inserted at the foot of the page referring to a point within the text, usually indicated by symbols such as asterisks and daggers or by superior numerals." (Publisher Association, 1997).

 

A scholarly footnote may contain an annotation: A citation, note or comment that explains the author's use or interpretation of the source material.

 

Sometimes what is termed "footnote" do not appear at the foot of the particular page where the text to which it applies is printed, but it is are collected together with other notes and appears on an appendix of notes at the end of the work. Such notes are more accurately termed endnotes.

 

Mario Bunge writes in his 'Dictionary of Philosophy' (1999):

'FOOTNOTE The mark of scholarship - at least according to the definition of a scholar as someone who specializes in transporting bones between intellectual cementeries. (Hence the expression 'buried in a footnote'). The better a modern scholar, the larger the footnotes/text ratio in his writings. If this ratio is 0, we have to do with either a nonscholar, a premodern scholar, or an original thinker; 1/2 is an indicator of average scholarship; 1 indicates good scholarship; and greater than 1 proves excellent scholarship. The eminent scholar will footnote footnotes, and so on - as many as the printer will bear.'

 

 

Literature:

 

Bunge,  Mario Augusto (1999). Dictionary of Philosophy. New York: Prometheus Books.

 

Grafton, A. (1995). Die tragischen Ursprünge der deutschen Fußnote. Berlin: Berlin-Verlag.

 

Grafton, A. (1997). The Footnote: A Curious History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

 

Hartley, J. (1999). What do we know about footnotes? Opinions and data. Journal of Information Science, 25(3), 205-212.

 

Publisher Association (1997). Glossary of book trade terminology. http://www.publishers.org.uk/paweb/paweb.nsf/0/AB6267C37C470E1480256AD80057F556?opendocument#F

 

Riess, P. (1984). Vorstudien zu einer Theorie der Fußnote. Berlin / New York: Walter de Gruyter

 

 

 

 

See also: Bibliographic reference; Paratexts; Reference

 

 

 

 

 

Birger Hjørland

Last edited: 15-12-2007

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