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How to talk backwards

To talk backwards so that it plays back forwards, you reverse the sounds of a phrase, not its spelling. Here is the method, some worked examples, and the reasons it is harder than it sounds.

Reverse the sounds, not the letters

Spelling a word backwards and saying the result almost never works, because English spelling and English sound barely match. Take knife. Its letters backwards give efink. Its sounds backwards are f, then the vowel turned inside out, then n: roughly fee-an. Play a recording of "fee-an" backwards and you hear "knife". Play "efink" backwards and you hear nothing useful.

So the target is never a spelling. It is the actual audio of the phrase, reversed. That is why the reliable way to learn it is to record the phrase, play it backwards, and copy what you hear.

Why talking backwards is hard

Vowels turn inside out. Many English vowels glide from one sound to another. I slides from "ah" to "ee", so backwards it slides from "ee" to "ah". O in "go" becomes "oo-oh".
Consonants flip into sounds English doesn't have. A p or t is a closure and then a puff of air. Backwards, the puff comes first. There is no spelling for it, and you have to learn it by ear.
The rhythm mirrors. A long held word at the end of a phrase becomes a long held sound at the start. People usually get the rhythm wrong before the sounds.
The stress lands where you don't expect it. Because the order of syllables flips, the emphasis arrives later than your instinct puts it.

Examples: common phrases backwards

These are rough spellings of how each phrase sounds when reversed. Say the middle column, record it, reverse the recording, and you should hear the phrase on the left. Capitals mark the stressed part.

Phrase	Say it like	Watch for
hello	oo-OHL-uh	The h becomes a breath at the very end.
I love you	ooy VUHL ee-ah	I turns into "ee-ah" and moves to the end.
happy birthday	ee-ed THURB ee-PAH	Finish on a breath for the h of "happy".
good morning	ngin RAWM dug	It starts with ng, a sound English never starts a word with.

Spellings only get you close. The recording is the real target. Revocal plays the exact backwards audio of your phrase, slowed down, as many times as you need.

How to talk backwards, step by step

Say the phrase normally and record it. Three or four words to start.
Play it backwards. Listen twenty times or more before you try it. That is normal, not slow.
Slow it down. At half speed the reversed sounds separate into pieces you can copy.
Copy it in chunks. Two or three seconds at a time. Get each chunk right on its own, then join them.
Record your attempt and reverse it. That is the only real test. If a word comes back wrong, drill that chunk again.
Expect five to ten attempts. That is the usual number for a recognisable result on a short phrase.

Talking backwards like Twin Peaks

The strange speech in Twin Peaks' Red Room was made the same way. The actors learned their lines phonetically backwards, were filmed saying them, and the footage was played in reverse. The speech comes out forwards but slightly wrong, which is exactly the effect. The method above is that technique, one short phrase at a time.

Questions

Can anyone learn to speak backwards?

Yes. It is a listening skill more than a talent. Short phrases, slowed-down playback and practice in chunks get most people to a recognisable result within ten attempts.

Is there a reverse talking translator?

Text translators only rearrange letters, which is not what reversed speech sounds like. You need the reversed audio. Revocal records your phrase and plays it backwards, slowed down, so you can copy the real sound.

How do you say your name backwards?

Record yourself saying your name, play it backwards, and copy what you hear. Don't try to reverse the spelling. The sounds, not the letters, are what flip.

Try it with Revocal

Revocal flips any line, plays it back slowed down until you can copy it, then films one take and plays you back forwards. Free on iPhone.