Norm och bruk i SAOL

Resumé

Svenska Akademiens ordlista (”The Swedish Academy Glossary”) is the Swedish
norm of spelling and inflection. It dates back to 1874 when there was a lively
discussion going on in Sweden concerning spelling. The paper gives a few glimpses
of the historic development up to the present 12th edition. The main issue is the
balance between the prescriptive and descriptive policy, and it is argued that the two
concepts are not in opposition. There is a broad descriptive basis and a smaller set of
alternatives where one form for different reasons is suggested on the expence of
another. Prescription in such alternative forms is discussed in vocabulary, orthography,
inflection and word formation.