# I speak backwardsese **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 21, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433 "2006-02-21T03:55:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/1 "2006-02-21T03:55:06Z")
S’ehz drk hab kiep siah! (I speak backwardsese!) You can too! What you do is record yourself speaking a normal sentence, such as “I speak backwardsese”. Then, using an audio-edit program, reverse the sound, and make a phonetic transliteration of the result. Listen to that a few times while saying it with the recording to match pronunciation and tone. Then, record yourself saying the phonetic equivalent of the backwards sound. What you get is a surprisingly intelligible recording of what sounds like Microsoft Sam saying the phrase in a funny accent. It’s not as hard as you think! Give it a shot and post your best and most fun transliterations here. I’ll kick it off with a couple of my own. “This is a test” = sh’z e’esh d’zit sid “Turn the tables, we’ll burn the fables” (a TFF lyric) = sol bied fud nur blib zul be’esh ded nurft “Hello, Mr. Ben” (a greeting to my friend) = meh br seh mull weh Give it a go! I have a sneaking suspicion that not a single person will find this as amusing as I do and this thread will sink like a stone. Nonetheless, I’m posting it anyway. Harrumph. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/2 "2006-02-21T03:56:58Z")
If I had a computer with those kinds of programs, I’d probably screw around with that kind of thing a lot. And not to change the subject, but good old Radiohead has one song (Like Spinning Plates) where the vocals were recorded in the manner you describe. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/3 "2006-02-21T03:57:20Z")
We once did this with our answering machine message back in the nineties. It kept us geeks entertained for a good couple hours. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/4 "2006-02-21T04:00:47Z")
When I was younger I spent a lot of time trying to come up with “hidden backwards messages” that were coherant when played in both directions. To this end I had a nice big chart which listed all the english phonemes and their reversals. The best I was ever able to come up with is “I’m scary Nevada,” which reverses to “I have an earache, smell.” You have to talk a little bit like you have down’s syndrome for it to work properly, though. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/5 "2006-02-21T04:09:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And not to change the subject, but good old Radiohead has one song (Like Spinning Plates) where the vocals were recorded in the manner you describe. Heh. Thanks for the info, but…well, let me just put it this way: [this is my guitar](http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5558/guitar2ka.jpg). Want to know the lyrics of a Radiohead b-side from a 1998 Europe-only unreleased vinyl single of which only twenty copies were ever made? I’m your man. I know as much about Thom & crew as I do about TFF. Where’dja think I got this idea? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/6 "2006-02-21T04:23:35Z")
?siht ekil epyt tsuj nac I nehw secived oidua htiw rehtob yhW ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/7 "2006-02-21T04:49:15Z")
> [@Roland Orzabal](#): > > Heh. Thanks for the info, but…well, let me just put it this way: [this is my guitar](http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/5558/guitar2ka.jpg). Want to know the lyrics of a Radiohead b-side from a 1998 Europe-only unreleased vinyl single of which only twenty copies were ever made? I’m your man. I know as much about Thom & crew as I do about TFF. We should keep in touch. I’ve got all their major releases and the two major EPs, and I’m wondering what else I should look for. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/8 "2006-02-21T06:53:21Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > We should keep in touch. I’ve got all their major releases and the two major EPs, and I’m wondering what else I should look for. 😉 Sure. Your email doesn’t seem to be in your profile, so shoot me a message at RolandOrzabal “at” [gmail.com](http://gmail.com), or IM me, handle RolandOrzbal (note the spelling). We’ll talk. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/9 "2006-02-21T07:05:05Z")
I have the gear and I reverse everything I record. I think its awesome. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to say that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-speak-backwardsese/345433/10 "2006-02-21T07:23:39Z")
You’ve got e-mail, **Roland**.