Lastemål

Lastemål is a linguistic term used in Scandinavian dialectology to describe a word-stress pattern in which the final syllable of a word carries the primary stress. The term, literally meaning “last accent” or “final stress,” is employed to characterize certain regional and historical speech varieties where the final syllable is notably prominent in pronunciation.

The concept is primarily descriptive and is contrasted with other stress patterns such as initial stress (forstavemål) and penultimate or other non-final configurations. Its use varies by language and region, and it is most commonly encountered in studies of Norwegian and Danish dialects, as well as in historical grammars and dialect atlases. In descriptions of lastemål, researchers often note how suffixes and word endings interact with the root, typically resulting in reduced prominence of affixes and a tendency for the final root syllable to bear the main emphasis.

Phonological implications of lastemål include effects on vowel length, consonant realization, and syllable timing, as the stressed final syllable can influence the rhythm and pronunciation of multisyllabic words. The pattern may also interact with morphophonemic alternations tied to derivation and inflection, though the exact behavior varies between dialects and historical periods.

In modern phonological analysis, lastemål is largely of historical and descriptive value, cited in discussions of regional variation rather than as a universal rule across Scandinavian languages. It is often discussed alongside related prosodic concepts such as tonemål (tonal patterns) and other stress schemes.

See also: stress (linguistics), dialectology, Scandinavian languages, tonemål, forstavemål.