@article{skoldberg-2012-tummen-167043, title = {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.}, journal = {LexicoNordica}, author = {Sköldberg, Emma}, year = {2012}, volume = {19}, pages = {183--202.}, }