[xhtml2] level attribute

I had originally posted this in the discussion list not realizing this was the proper place to make a suggestion.

I'd like to suggest adding a level attribute to both em and strong tags. This attribute would be used to set the level of emphasis/importance rather than by nesting, as is currently implied for strong and suggested by Laurens Holstfor em. The level attribute would take a negative integer, to indicate, de-emphasis/less importance, a positive integer, to indicate increasing emphasis/importance, or a "0", to indicate no change. "0" would be the default. There would need to be a reasonable limit for the number of levels, both positively and negatively.

Example: <em level="1">emphasized text</em>

I think a level attribute is better than nesting because it allows for reducing the emphasis/importance below normal. Nesting can only increase this. 

A use-case where de-emphasis would be needed is in marking up a transcript. (WCAG requires this for accessibility) De-emphasis would be used to indicate that the speaker whispered. 

A use-case where indicating less importance would be needed would be an aside or digression.

If this cannot be done then I would suggest as an alternative: Follow Laurens suggestion for em and add 2 new elements. One for indicating de-emphasis, One of indicating less importance. I leave the naming of them to you.

Thank you,
Jonathan

 		
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