Furby is an American electronic robotic toy by Tiger Electronics. Originally released in 1998, it resembles a hamster or owl-like creature and went through a period of being a “must-have” toy following its holiday season launch. Over 40 million Furbies were sold during the three years of its original production, with 1.8 million sold in 1998, and 14 million in 1999. Its speaking capabilities were translated into 14 languages.
- Furbies were the first successful attempt to produce and sell a domestically aimed robot.
- The main reason for their popularity was because of apparent “intelligence”, reflected in their ability to develop language skills.
Furby’s Language “Furbish”
Furbish is the language spoken by all Furbys, Furblings, and Friends of Furby.
The original 1998 Furby and its dictionary contained a total of 42 different Furbish words. Following Furby models introduced a larger vocabulary, from moo-lah (money) to oo-kah(uncle). Furbish is formed from a mix of different sounds and syllables.
Although Furbish may seem silly at first, it uses concepts, possibly inspired by many languages – especially Japanese and German. The Furbish word “Doo?” is used in place of a question mark and “Wah!” in place of an exclamation point. “Doo?” is very similar to the Japanese word “ですか?” which is also used in place of a question mark. (Example, Furbish: “Doo-dah oo-nye may-may kah doo?” English (literal): Do you love me?”)
A Furby starts off speaking predominantly Furbish, and slowly begins to speak more English/the language of the land over time. This is advertised as “learning to speak your language by talking to me”, however a Furby will not learn words you expose to them. For example, a Furby won’t start to say the word “pineapple” just because you repeat it to them. A 1998 Furby has four language development stages programmed that it will transition to the longer you interact with the Furby. Emoto-Tronic Furby, 2012 Furby and Furby Boom also work this way. Furby Connect and the 2023 Furby do not have developmental stages.
Furby is watching you!!!
