[Avodah] Accent on the Right Syllable in Krias Shema

[Michael ORR]

  OC 61 deals with the requirement for proper pronunciation of krias shema, but unless I am missing something there appears to be an absence of any discussion of the need to put the accent on the proper syllable (as indicated by the masoretic text).  In some cases, accents can change the meaning significantly, for example:
   
  -"veahavTA" (you shall love Hashem) versus "veaHAVta" (you loved Hashem);
   
  -"veshinanTAM" levanecha (you shall teach your sons) versus "veshiNANtam" (you taught your sons) 
   
  -"vedibarTA" bam (you shall speak in them) versus "vediBARta" bam (you spoke in them).
   
  OC 61:23 sounds like it might deal with accents, (“not to make weak sounds strong or strong sounds weak”) but the commentators that I have seen say it refers to making sure to pronounce letters with or without a dagesh where it makes a difference (based on its source in Rambam).   It seems that the whole of siman 61 dealing with pronunciation issues does not deal with the issue of accents.  This omission seems strange, since accents are (a) clearly part of the masoretic text, and (b) significantly affect the meaning in some cases.   
   
  Can anyone provide an authoritative source for the obligation to put the accent on the proper syllable? 
   
  Kol tuv,
   
  Michael Orr, Toronto
  michaelorr at rogers.com 
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