I don’t know about German, but in Swedish it looks really messy if you sunder your compound words. In general I think people know what you mean regardless, but you can end up with peculiar double meanings. There are plenty of signs, notes, and what have you that people have posted online for a laugh.
Off the top of my head
Gå lättpackad i fjällen
Travel lightly (as in luggage) in the mountains
Gå lätt packad i fjällen
Travel slightly intoxicated in the mountains
Sjukgymnast
Physiotherapist
Sjuk gymnast
Diseased/Sick gymnast
Addendum. Sjuk could also be used as an emphasizer just like in English. Think “bro that’s a sick outfit” kind of thing, so it could be read as “awesome gymnast”
Årets sista svenskodlade tulpaner
The last Swedish-grown tulips of the year
Årets sista svensk odlade tulpaner
The last Swede of the year cultivated tulips
It’s also worth noting that the tones can be different, so if you “hear” the words as you read them, then “lättpackad” and “lätt packad” sounds different.
Yeah! I wonder if it’s because of the prevalence of English media here in Sweden. We unlike the Germans don’t really do much dubbing unless the target audience is children/families.
Meanwhile there is many words that are just two words in english instead of a compound word.
Lets take a typical example for “business” compound-words:
IT-Sicherheitsdienstleister -> IT security service provider.
I don’t know about German, but in Swedish it looks really messy if you sunder your compound words. In general I think people know what you mean regardless, but you can end up with peculiar double meanings. There are plenty of signs, notes, and what have you that people have posted online for a laugh.
Off the top of my head
It’s also worth noting that the tones can be different, so if you “hear” the words as you read them, then “lättpackad” and “lätt packad” sounds different.
That’s very interesting that sick/sjuk have the same slang meaning, thanks.
Yeah! I wonder if it’s because of the prevalence of English media here in Sweden. We unlike the Germans don’t really do much dubbing unless the target audience is children/families.