Tummen upp eller tummen ner? Om användning och beskrivning av konventionaliserade gester i svenskan

Abstract

In this paper I present a study of about 50 Swedish words and word
combinations connected to emblems, i.e. non-verbal acts which
have a direct verbal translation, consisting of a word or a phrase (e.g.
nicka ‘nod’, skaka på huvudet ‘shake one’s head’). Firstly I explore the
usage of the words and word combinations in modern texts included
in the Swedish Language Bank. Secondly I study how they are
treated in four modern monolingual dictionaries. The study shows
that this kind of words and word combinations are a challenge to
lexicographers. The gestures may be difficult to describe (especially
as they can be performed in slightly different ways). Furthermore,
many of the words and word combinations have both a literal and a
metaphorical meaning and very special connotations.