Template:Interp
[interpolated text here]
 | This template is safe for use in citation templates that produce COinS metadata; see Wikipedia:COinS. If HTML or other markup is added, then the template must be reevaluated. |
This is a simple template used to identify and correctly format interpolations in quoted material. These interpolations add to or replace portions of a quote (frequently pronouns, or some other unclear referent) to make clear to readers information that is supplied by the context of the quote. For instance, the original quote might be:
With interpolations, the quote could be:
The same effect could be achieved without interpolation by breaking up the quote into pieces, for instance:
However, in many cases interpolation may be preferable as a way of clarifying ambiguous referents, since it keeps the flow of the quote intact.
Usage
The usage is very simple; simply use the words to be interpolated as the only argument to the template call:
{{interp|Alan Smithee}}
produces:
[Alan Smithee]
The original text can be preserved in the source with |orig= or |original=, for verifiability purposes, but without affecting the output:
{{interp|Alan Smithee|orig=The director}}
still produces:
[Alan Smithee]
This optional parameter records the actual words being replaced, thus making it possible to reproduce the original quote and lessening fears that the interpolations actually claim more than the context supports (a form of misquotation, and a violation of the Wikipedia:No original research policy.)
Further development
Something could be done with the |orig= parameter, e.g. displaying it in a tooltip.