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Process of reversing the phonemes or phones of a word or phrase
Phonetic reversal
is the process of reversing the
phonemes
or
phones
of a
word
or
phrase
. When the reversal is identical to the original, the word or phrase is called a
phonetic palindrome
. Phonetic reversal is not entirely identical to
backmasking
, which is specifically the reversal of
recorded sound
. This is because
pronunciation
in
speech
causes a reversed
diphthong
to sound different in either direction (e.g.
eye
[a?]
becoming
yah
[j?ː]
), or differently articulate a
consonant
depending on where it lies in a word, hence creating an imperfect reversal.
Backmasking involves not only the reversal of the sounds and order of phonemes or phones, but the reversal of the
allophonic
realizations of those phonemes. Strictly speaking, a reversal of phonemes will still result in allophones appropriate for the new position; for example, if a word with a final /t/ is reversed so that the /t/ is initial, the initial /t/ will be aspirated in line with the conventional allophonic patterns of
English phonology
.
According to proponents of
reverse speech
, phonetic reversal occurs unknowingly during normal speech.
Examples
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- In the 1974 album
Rock Bottom
, the track
Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road
presented the chord progression along with
Robert Wyatt
's singing being both phonetically reversed at one middle point of the song, which turned the track's harmonics to be reversed from the beginning although Robert Wyatt restarted to sing normally, causing an original and disturbing effect.
- In 1982, John Wright of
NoMeansNo
sang phonetically reversed lyrics on the backing vocal to the "Rich Guns" track on the band's first album,
Mama
.
- In the
1984
American film
Amadeus
, lead character
Wolfgang Mozart
claims to
Constanze Weber
that "[in
Salzburg
] everything goes backwards". He then proceeds to deliver a series of phonetically reversed phrases, many of them vulgar, which she must guess by reversing them out loud.
[1]
- In the television drama
Twin Peaks
, the
Man from Another Place
's character's speech was phonetically reversed.
- The Simpsons
used the technique to
parody
Twin Peaks
in the episode "
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)
".
- Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jim Ure is better known by his phonetically reversed (first) name
Midge Ure
.
- Kate Bush
used phonetic reversal in her songs "Watching You Without Me" (1985) and "Leave it Open" (1982).
- The English rock band
Radiohead
used the effect on the song "Like Spinning Plates", released on their 2001 album
Amnesiac
. Singer
Thom Yorke
sang the lyrics backwards; this recording was in turn reversed to create "backwards-sounding" vocals.
[2]
- A specific recording of the phrase "In the mix" exists that is a phonetic palindrome, and is often used by
Turntablist
DJs
for this reason.
- In the 2008 monster film
Cloverfield
, after the credits, a broken sound recording can be heard of Rob saying "...help us...", as at the end, he and his girlfriend were trapped under a bridge. If reversed, it sounds like Rob saying "...it’s still alive..."
- In 2007, backwards speaking radio sensation "Backwards Dave" (David Klempfner) beat the Guinness World Record Holder, David Fuhrer aka "Mr Backwards" in a backwards-speaking competition live on Triple J.
[3]
In 2008, Dave performed on
Australia's Got Talent
saying "Does Australia Have Talent?" in phonetic reversal.
[4]
In 2012 Backwards Dave appeared on Channel 7's
Sunrise
, an Australian TV show.
[5]
- During the opening theme song for
Gravity Falls
, a whisper is heard saying, "I'm still here." However, if one reverses it, it says, "Three Letters Back", which is a clue to the ending credits code. The whisper is changed to "Switch the A with Z" in Double Dipper, "26 Letters" in Bottomless Pit, "Key Vigenere" in Scary-Oke, and "Not What He Seems" in the episode with this title (while still using the
Vigenere cipher
).
References
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External links
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