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Usually when the word אתה appears in Tanach and tfilah, we pronounce it מלרע (a-TAH or a-TOH. whichever you like, that's not really my point. The emphasis is on the end of the word).

Why in Yoda-esque sentences* do we emphasize the first syllable instead and pronounce it מלעיל (A-tah, with emphasis on the beginning of the word)?

I'm looking for a specific grammatical rule that doesn't involve Star Wars references.

*Such as מְחַיֵּה מֵתִים אַתָּה (resurrecter of the dead you are) and מוחֵל וְסולֵחַ אָתָּה

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Who's 'we'? Is this something done because of tradition or because of lack of Hebrew language knowledge? – Yaakov Kuperman Apr 18 '12 at 1:23
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If you look in artscroll siddurim (and I think a couple of other siddurim also), there's a little vertical line under some words. I don't have one on me right now to double check, but I'm pretty sure those lines are there to tell you which syllable should be emphasized. – Ari A Apr 18 '12 at 1:29
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Who is this "@vram", anyways? People keep referencing @vram, but I see no name such as that. Is this the person who signs with two obscene looking dots? Why the need for a signature like that? What message are you trying to send by doing this? – Shemmy Apr 18 '12 at 3:37
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To those who are advocating closure: This is a question about proper accenting and pronunciation of prayer and is therefore definitely in-scope. – Isaac Moses Apr 19 '12 at 17:26
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