EN
The article analyses the morphologically unformed subordinate component in the borrowed compounds and its adaptation in the Bulgarian language (for example 'smartkarta / smart karta' (smart card). As this component is semantically and syntactically dependent, it is examined as a formant. The expanded range of the formant relations highlights the relativity of the borders between compound and syntactic constructions. The essential aspect to be considered is the word-formation relation between stems, which transforms the subordinate component into an inner formant (whereas the additional suffix, or the outer formant, is not binding and is not productive at present moment). However, the formant tends to become a lexeme. Additional suffixes don't take part in the formation of the formant which can be recognized either as a noun or an adjective depending on its syntactic function. Evidence gathered in the course of the research suggests that in the speech patterns including borrowed components used by the younger generation in Bulgaria analytism dominates the lexical and grammatical syncretism of the ancient model of the united lexeme.