PRIMAL LANGUAGE

Preface

My initial study of the language grew from an interest in the communication styles of non-human sentient beings. To further my research, I gained the trust of various tribal groups, or “races” for lack of a better word. These divisions are not truly “species”, because non-human sentients don’t evolve in the same way that humans and animals do. As I began to study the interactions of these creatures, I made some amazing discoveries.
Human (Indo-European) dialects are never the primary language spoken by non-humans, except in cases where the individuals are reared by or among human cultures. While many different languages (and indeed, different forms of communication entirely) exist among the non-human races, my surprise was in finding that a single language (Primal) is spoken by most therianthropic races. While some of these races pronounce Primal’s phonemes in an unusual manner, such as with bleats or clicks, the language itself is universal and readily decipherable to a trained ear.
So, I chose Primal as my preferred language of study for three reasons. First and foremost, the universal nature of the language makes it very handy. Among non-human sentients, Primal is the most widely spoken language. Second, Primal’s phonemes are all pronounceable by the human tongue, and pleasant sounding. And third, I have made a number of close friends among therianthropes, and I treasure the language as a result.
Back in July 2001, I self-published a weird book about a language aimed at a furry audience. It was expensive and the quality wasn't great (the books fall apart pretty easily). Plus I was on a tight timetable because I wanted the book ready in time for Anthrocon 2001. I was about to begin graduate studies in the fall, and I knew I wouldn't have free time after that, so I wrote for three months while working full-time in medical microbiology and somehow finished just in time.
Due to the time constraints, the book was filled with errors and missing information. I tried to fix things by setting up a tutorial website for the language with expanded information and errata, which I had already referenced in the book, though I think the web host may have passed away, which is why the original domain for the website no longer exists. I also put together (and then revised) a font to show the script as intended, and wrote a simple flashcard applet.
I never expected more than a few people to take interest, yet I often considered fixing the book and publishing a second edition. However, after grad school I began having symptoms of worsening ADHD and eventually developed chronic fatigue syndrome, which has forced me to retire early. It has also made it incredibly difficult to concentrate and work on projects.
Then, out of the blue, one furry contacted me with interest in designing a Russian translation for Primal. His patience with my inability to respond quickly by email has been nothing short of legendary. I was very impressed by how thorough he was in identifying lots of mistakes I hadn't caught. If I ever recover enough medically to put together a second edition, it'll be in large part thanks to his efforts with translation.
Some improvements I'd intended for the second edition can be found here. Since the font exists prior to the book being published, the script can be shown in the book as it was always intended. In the original book I had to use a "pidgin script" to represent phonemes, but the letters I chose were not intuitive to English speakers. Since a pidgin script isn't necessary with the font being available, we've changed the Romanization that is used to describe pronunciation to more closely match American English.
It's neat to see something you did more than two decades ago still having an impact on people, even if it's just a cult following. The furry con I started in 2003 is still alive and kicking too, but only thanks to the dedicated souls who put in effort every year to make it happen. I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring a little joy and weirdness into your lives, and the short saying in the original preface to the Primal book still holds true today: zu suj frx.
– Trickster (aka Trick Question) kunIqsr.

About Primal Language

Primal is a written and spoken language with its own unique alphabet and sentence structure. Among humans, Primal is a common tongue for the "furry", "were", and "otherkin" communities. In a more general sense, it is a language of therianthropes: part-human, part-animal creatures, such as gargoyles, centaurs, and seraphim.
Primal is actually a language. Primal has its own words, which, in many cases, do not translate directly to counterparts in any other language. Primal has a unique system of grammar, similar in structure to Chinese. It is a syntax-based language in subject- verb-object format. Primal has its own alphabet, which is nearly invariantly phonetic. This makes Primal words easy to spell and pronounce once the alphabet is understood.
Pronunciation depends largely on the accent of the speaker. I used to maintain sound files embedded in the tutorial, but this was distracting more that it was helping, so they were removed. If a "human" accent is used, as described in the (advanced) Accent lesson, most native English speakers will find that Primal sounds similar to English. This is because Primal is spoken rather slowly, and all of its phonemes are English-familiar.
You may use Primal without express permission as long as the amount of Primal in your work is small, and is not copied verbatim from the manual or website. If you publish something with Primal bits included, please contact me as a courtesy to let me know. I like to stay informed.
Short excerpts of text from the book or webpage are allowed for review purposes only. If you want to copy or print a long excerpt of text from the book or webpage, or if you want to publish or sell something that contains a significantly large amount of Primal, please contact me first, and I'll let you know. I retain the right to change or revoke the above privileges at will and on a person-by-person basis, should irresolvable conflicts arise. So when in doubt, ask first.
Trickster: [email protected]