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In colloquial Swedish, -is suffixation is a productive derivational process. The suffix -is has many diminutive-like properties (e.g., -is combines with truncated bases or bases of different lexical classes). As its main use is not to convey smallness but rather a subjective, qualitative evaluation, the present study addresses -is suffixation within evaluative morphology theory. Based on corpus-data from social media texts, +500 -is words (types) are analyzed for formation pattern, lexical class, and gender. The majority of -is words are uter gender nouns, mostly referring to animate referents, a few have neuter gender, mostly referring to inanimates, and some are adjectives, adverbs, or interjections. Semantically, some -is words are homonymous or polysemous. The study holds that there are different, more or less regular subpatterns of -is suffixation. It also suggests that -is suffixation might be on its way to becoming regularized towards forming nouns with uter gender and animate referents. However, as new and old words on -is exist side by side in contemporary language, -is words lie on a continuum, with regular morphological subpatterns at one end and irregular formations at the other.

Swedish has two main types of action nominal constructions (ANCs), either compounding or phrasal (incorporating or nominal, in Koptjevskaja-Tamm 1993), which contain deverbal nouns in -ande or -(n)ing, along with dependent elements. This study investigates Swedish ANCs in use, based on a limited data set from a COVID-19 corpus. It adopts a lexeme-based approach, where deverbal nouns (simplex action nominals), whether including -ande or -(n)ing, are morphological constructs and contain a verb lexeme, specified for a list of arguments and an event structure. The study focusses on two questions: to what extent do the two suffixes occur in the compounding versus phrasal ANCs, and to what extent and by what means are the arguments of the verbal base expressed in the compounding versus phrasal ANCs. The data of 328 ANCs (type) show that compounding ANCs predominate over phrasal ANCs, whether combined with   -ande or -(n)ing, and that -(n)ing is much more frequent than -ande. As for the expression of arguments, the compounding ANCs contain equally often a modifier (similar to NN-compounding) or an Arg2/internal argument, whereas the phrasal ANCs more often express the Arg2. The Arg1/external argument tends to be expressed as a preposed genitive in one out of ten cases in both compounding and phrasal ANCs. Within a lexeme-based account, we can speak of a gradual transition from morphological constructions, more typically primary compounds (noun-noun) and less typically deverbal compounds (such as compounding ANCs), over to syntactic constructions (such as phrasal ANCs). In conclusion, the study suggests that compounding ANCs are the preferred option in contemporary Swedish for both suffixes, with compounding ANCs, in particular those with -(n)ing, bordering on NN-compounding. Given that both phrasal and compounding ANCs with -ande or -(n)ing occur, albeit to different extents, competition between the morphological and syntactic patterns remains unresolved.

The present study addresses competing binominal types in Swedish language development. It is based on diary data from one child and longitudinal recordings from four children between the ages 1-3. In Swedish, binominal lexemes correspond most often to NN compounding: one of the earliest word-formation patterns acquired by children; and a way to combine concepts to express different semantic relations. Still, other nominal constructions with genitives, adjectives, prepositions, or subordinators can express similar basic semantic relations, thus being competing binominal types in Swedish. In the data, the emergence and later establishment of different binominal types (syntactic or morphological) follow similar developmental paths among the children. NN compounds emerge the first, but once nominal constructions that contain prepositions or subordinators (som 'that' or 'as/like') become established, they constitute the strongest competitors to NN compounds, especially for descriptive purposes. The study suggests that Swedish-speaking children's early use of compounding could be a cognitively motivated option, since it implies a rather simple juxtaposition of two nouns, with little semantic specification. Over time, however, children gradually master to express the semantic relation between two concepts also through syntactic means, although NN compounding remains an open and well entrenched pattern for conceptual combination.

This study explores formal aspects and functions of 420 novel noun-noun (NN) compounds in diary data from three Swedish children (1;9–6;11). With regard to form, the data show that the children’s compounds respect target head order, allow for a small amount of internal inflection, and, in more than half of the cases where a liaison form is required, are properly formed. Most of the compounds concatenate two nouns (without the presence of liaison forms), as is the general case for Swedish NN compounds. With regard to function, the data permit us to distinguish three main functions of the coinages: I. Novel compound instead of established term, II. Novel compound for novel category, and III. Novel compound for specific entity. Type I involves attempts to target conventional compounds by relying either on perceptual or functional features or on recalled semantic, phonological, and/or morphological cues. Type II is innovative compounding par excellence: detailed discriminations and fantasy concepts are named. Type III divides into anaphoric and deictic uses as well as what we call appropriation, i.e. naming a specific entity. Types II and III are functions displayed by novel compounds in general. In conclusion, the three children seem to master the central facets of NN compounds, formally and functionally. Furthermore, compound production can constitute a simple and efficient means for young children to maximize and build more structure into their lexicon.

This study examines Swedish NN compounds and their French translations in a bidirectional parallel corpus. A total of 1,741 Swedish NN compounds were attested and 81% corresponded to N or to N A or N de (Det) N constructions in French. The frequency of Swedish NN compounds differs depending on whether the text is source text or target text as well as on text genre (fiction vs. non-fiction) and the style of the author or translator. This work has also classified 1,027 French translations of Swedish NN compounds based on their translation technique. Established equivalent was by far the most frequent technique followed by Generalization. The remaining techniques, such as Modulation, Transposition,and Explicitation, were rarely used. A conclusion drawn from this work is that it is difficult to maintain a strict division between translation studies and contrastive linguistics in an analysis of word formation and translation techniques.

This study addresses one aspect of conceptual development, viz. categorization, in connection with children’s compounding. It is based on diary data of 392 non-established NN compounds, spontaneously produced between age 1–6 by three Swedish children. The aim is to investigate in what domains their compounds, or conceptual combinations, are situated, and to analyse them with focus on categorization. We show that children use familiar items in compounding: more than one third of the N1s and N2s belong to the same morphological family. Taxonomically, the domains of food, clothes, animals and vehicles predominate among the compounds. The two major scripts are Eating and Getting dressed. Our data permits us to trace other categorization types as well, such as thematic, evaluative and ad hoc. Compounds relying on perceptual features, mainly shape and prints, do occur, notwithstanding that general background knowledge and abstract representations intervene. Tendencies to cross-classify entities are shown. Moreover, the children tend to subcategorize at a more detailed level than adults do, which might suggest that they have fewer, but more specified, categories in their so far limited lexicon. In conclusion, subcategorization by compounding can be seen as a powerful means for children to develop their conceptual system.