Phonetic reversal is the process of reversing the phonemes 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 cause a reversed vowel to sound different in either direction, or differently emphasize a consonant depending on where it lies in a word, hence creating an imperfect reversal. Backmasking involves not only the reversal of the order of phonemes, but the reversal of the phonemes themselves, which means that the reversed sound of a phrase may be hard to predict. Illustration of a physical process: a geyser in action. Process (lat. ... In spoken language, a phoneme is a basic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words (i. ... A word is a unit of language that carries meaning and consists of one or more morphemes which are linked more or less tightly together, and has a phonetical value. ... Look up phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A phonetic palindrome is a portion of sound or phrase of speech which is identical or roughly identical when reversed. ... Backmasking (also known incorrectly as backward masking)[1] is a recording technique in which a sound or message is recorded backwards onto a track that is meant to be played forwards. ... Methods and media for sound recording are varied and have undergone significant changes between the first time sound was actually recorded for later playback until now. ... Look up pronunciation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ...

According to proponents of reverse speech, phonetic reversal occurs unknowingly during normal speech. This article is about the theory of reversed messages in normal speech. ...

Examples

• At one point 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.
• The Paul is dead urban legend became prominent when a DJ named Russ Gibb played backwards on the radio part of The Beatles' "Revolution 9", and heard what sounded like "Turn me on, dead man..."^[1]
• The 1978 album Sir Army Suit by Klaatu contained a song "Silly Boys," which was recorded completely as phonetic reversal of the lyrics.
• For the Radiohead song "Like Spinning Plates", released on Amnesiac, singer Thom Yorke sung the lyrics, played them backwards and learned how to sing them backwards. He recorded them backwards and reversed them for the final take of the song. The music playing behind "Like Spinning Plates" are actually the reversed instrumentals of another Radiohead song "I Will" that was later released on their Hail to the Thief album.
• The Residents also used the same technique in the late 1970s, for the recording of the "Eskimo" dialogue in the album Eskimo.
• This technique was also used for the Man from another place character in the television drama Twin Peaks. The Simpsons used the same technique to parody the Twin Peaks episode in Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two).
• Jeroen Offerman memorized the backward vocals to "Stairway to Heaven" and videotaped himself singing them in time to the reversed music in front of St. Paul's Cathedral. He then reversed the video, creating a warped rendition of the original song. The finished piece is entitled "The Stairway at St. Paul’s".^[2]
• Kate Bush used this technique in Watching You Without Me (1985) and Leave it Open (1982).
• This technique was also used in 1982 by John Wright of NoMeansNo for the backing vocal on the song "Rich Guns", from their first album, "Mama".
• In the early 1980s, bass player Bill Lanphier reversed a recording of the "Theme from New York, New York", which he and other musicians mimicked and recorded, and then reversed that backward recording to create a double-backward recording, in which the music is oriented correctly but which maintains the quality of a backward recording (mp3 file).
• In 1999, They Might Be Giants released Long Tall Weekend, which contained a track entitled "On Earth my Nina". The song was made so that played backwards it created a completely different song with a complete set of lyrics, "Thunderbird", which came out on their later album The Spine. Also, on their song "Dinner Bell" from Apollo 18 in 1992, they used a technique similar to Radiohead's (see above) for one of the verses.
• The instrumentals of Siouxsie & the Banshees' song Peek-a-Boo was produced using backmasking. They learned to play the song backwards, then reversed the track when including the vocals.
• The BBC Radiophonic Workshop based the audio backing for a science fiction play on reversed voices.^[3]
• Though not strictly phonetic reversal because it does not involve speech, a similar process is the backwards playing of instruments, which can be used to create a backwards-sounding recording. Part of the David Bowie song "Move On" is an earlier song written by Bowie, "All The Young Dudes", played backwards. Bowie stated that "I was playing through some old tapes of mine on a Revox and accidentally played one backwards and thought it was beautiful. Without listening to what it was originally we recorded it note for note backwards".^[4] Similarly, Johnny Cash's first number one hit, "I Walk the Line" (1956), was derived from a melody that resulted from an accidental tape reversal.^[5]

// The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name. ... Much like American popular music, the American film industry has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ... Amadeus is a 1984 film directed by MiloÅ¡ Forman and based on the stage play Amadeus. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... “Constanze Mozart is perhaps the most unpopular woman in music history,” writes H.C. Robbins Landon. ...   (Austro-Bavarian: SÃ¥izburg) is the fourth-largest city in Austria and the capital of the federal state of Salzburg. ... The term vulgar originally meant of the common people, from the Latin vulgus. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Russ Gibb has worn many hats in his time. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Revolution 9 is an experimental recording which appeared on the Beatles 1968 self-titled LP release (known as the White Album). ... Sir Army Suit is the third album recorded by the Canadian progressive rock band known as Klaatu. ... Klaatu was a Canadian progressive rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. ... Silly Boys is a song by the Canadian band Klaatu, which appeared on their third album, Sir Army Suit. ... Radiohead are an English rock band that formed in Oxfordshire in 1986. ... Amnesiac is the fifth studio album by the English band Radiohead. ... Hail to the Thief (subtitled The Gloaming) is the sixth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 9 June 2003 in the United Kingdom and June 10, 2003 in the United States. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Eskimos or Esquimaux are aboriginal people who inhabit the circumpolar region, excluding Scandinavia and most of Russia, but including the easternmost portions of Siberia. ... The Man from another place also known as The Dream Dwarf is a character in the Mark Frost and David Lynch television series, Twin Peaks, which aired over 29 episodes on ABC from 1990-91. ... Twin Peaks is an American Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, which first aired in the United States on April 8, 1990 and ended on June 10, 1991. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Who Shot Mr. ... Stairway to Heaven is a popular rock song by the English rock group Led Zeppelin, composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant, and recorded on their fourth studio album, (Led Zeppelin IV). ... St Pauls Cathedral is a cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London in London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. ... Kate Bush (Born Catherine Bush on 30 July 1958, Bexleyheath, Greater London) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. ... Nomeansno is a rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and now located in Vancouver, British Columbia. ... There are a range of musical instruments that can be collectively be regarded as bass instruments since they are in the bass range. ... Theme from New York, New York (or just New York, New York) is the theme song from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film New York, New York. ... They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is an American alternative rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh that formed in 1982. ... Long Tall Weekend was an Internet-only album by They Might Be Giants and was released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). ... The Spine is the tenth full-length They Might Be Giants studio album. ... Apollo 18 was a cancelled flight within the Apollo Program, which would have been the eighth attempted lunar landing. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... Peek-a-Boo is a song written, produced and recorded by English rock band Siouxsie & the Banshees. ... The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... Move On is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1979 for the album Lodger. ... All the Young Dudes is a song written by David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by Mott the Hoople in 1972. ... It has been suggested that Johnny Cash family be merged into this article or section. ... I Walk the Line is a song written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. ...

Sources

1. ^ Andru J. Reeve. Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul is Dead" Hoax. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781418482947
2. ^ http://www.lff.org.uk/films_details.php?FilmID=237
3. ^ Marsh, Peter. Experimental Review - Radiophonic Workshop. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
4. ^ Encyclopaedia: A. The Ziggy Stardust Companion. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
5. ^ Menke, Steve. Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.

• EV: Audio reversal in popular culture
• Script for Amadeus