Vocabug, a word generator

[Neonnaut]

I am happy to announce the release of Vocabug version 1.0.0

https://neonnaut.neocities.org/vocabug

Vocabug randomly generates vocabulary from a given definition of graphemes and word patterns. It can be used to generate words for a constructed language, original nicknames or passwords, or just for fun.

This word generator is designed to be a successor to the Williams' Lexifer and to the legendary Awkwords. You can find Vocabug's repository here. You can also use Vocabug in your own projects or as a command-line-interface here.

If you would prefer a more typical user interface with simple syntax, please check out Vocabug-lite here.

Here are some of the many features

• You can use character escape! Any syntax character can be escaped and there are named escapes too.
• Supra-set: Lets say you had suprasegmentals that can occur only once per word in multiple positions, such as stress. In every other word generator you have to list out every possible position where stress can occur as a separate word-shape. A supra-set allows all these positions the stress can occur in one word-shape, and only one will be chosen per word.
• Sets: There are two kinds of sets with generating words. 'Pick-one' where Vocabug will pick an option from that set. 'Optional' where Vocabug has by default a 10% chance of choosing an option from that set.
• You can change the default distribution of categories or word-shapes.
• Conditions and exceptions: You can ensure transformations on words only occur in a certain environment.
• Features: Define feature‑based categories (e.g., [+nasal], [−voice], [+labial]) and use them to build rules. This allows you to write rules that operate on classes of sounds rather than individual graphemes.
• Metathesis: Swaps the first and last grapheme of part of a word.
• Reference: You can capture a grapheme or stream of graphemes to be reproduced elsewhere.
• Associatemes: What are associatemes? They are real cool. You should check them out.
• Routines: Routines are transforms that do jobs such as capitalisation, Xsampa-to-IPA, and Roamanisation-to-Hangul

[xxx]

I'm also looking for someone,
to live my life for me;
I could dedicate all my time,
to creating vocabulary for my conlang...

[Neonnaut]

I'm also looking for someone,
to live my life for me;
I could dedicate all my time,
to creating vocabulary for my conlang...

Are you an LLM?

[Raphael]

I'm also looking for someone,
to live my life for me;
I could dedicate all my time,
to creating vocabulary for my conlang...

Are you an LLM?

No, xxx is just weird and politically far right.

[/ˌnɐ.ˈɾɛn.dɚ.ˌduːd/]

I'm also looking for someone,
to live my life for me;
I could dedicate all my time,
to creating vocabulary for my conlang...

Are you an LLM?

No, xxx is just weird and politically far right.

and oft a rather poetic individual, as you can see he writes only in riddles, rhymes, and stanzas.

[ophois]

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. This is great! I've played around with it a bit and it's the best word generator I've seen so far.

[rotting bones]

I have used word generators before. I will definitely try this out. Thanks.

[xxx]

I'm also looking for someone,
to live my life for me;
I could dedicate all my time,
to creating vocabulary for my conlang...

Are you an LLM?

No, xxx is just weird and politically far right.

Nope, I'm the exact opposite,
and I don't intend to delegate my life
to brainless simpletons...

[Neonnaut]

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. This is great! I've played around with it a bit and it's the best word generator I've seen so far.

I missed your post somehow. Thanks so much, I appreciate it.

I have since released more features, some of which I have not seen done elsewhere.

• Letter-case-field: this allows a language to have custom correspondences between lowercase and uppercase letters. For example in Turkish the lowercase <i> becomes uppercase <İ>, and the uppercase <I> becomes lowercase <ı>.
• Chance block: depending on a percentile chance for each word, multiple transform rules will or will not be run.
• Schema: For my SCA only, for each input word, it is possible to split the input word into various fields such as "word" and "class" and any other fields. The word is then changed, and then in the output recompiled according to a user defined format.

I have an SCA called Nesca now, which shares a lot of the same syntax.

[Torco]

Are you an LLM?

No, xxx is just weird and politically far right.

Nope, I'm the exact opposite,
and I don't intend to delegate my life
to brainless simpletons...

you're certainly not the opposite of weird, i'll tell you that pardner
and as we all know, true conlangers only work on paper with charcoal they've burned out of wood themselves... come on, there's nothing wrong with using tools, even tools you don't like.


EDIT: cool wordgen! can't i define more than one unit ? wanted to do
units:
$ = CV(F)
! = CF

but it refused

[xxx]

thank you, comrade…

but there is a difference between:
tools for jotting down your ideas,
and those that build up language for you...

(especially for a guy whose weirdness
lies in regaining control
over a social phenomenon
that is language...)

[Neonnaut]

EDIT: cool wordgen! can't i define more than one unit ? wanted to do
units:
$ = CV(F)
! = CF

but it refused

If you are seriously asking, the key of a unit must be a capital letter or $. I also allow a few other characters.

This kind of scenario was the reason I created Vocabug-lite. It's simple. It doesn't look like a scary programming language. The documentation should be a four minute read. It does most of what you want in a word-gen. No man sees a few bells and whistles attached to trees as the forest made of bells and whistles.

. . .

If Mr. X is implying that some kind of machine that creates a sound system and grammar, generates words, assigns them meaning, creates whole sentences with meaning etc. etc. all for you at the push of a button or simple prompt, and then you presenting it unaltered as a conlang, is not conlanging as an art form, I would agree with them. Or perhaps they simply imply they prefer to coin words as they see them, which is completely valid. I fear the world may never know.

[Torco]

oh nice, yeah that works now. thanks!

like a woodworker insisting you have to hew your own planks or you're not a real woodworker, some people are silly about tools for conlanging. it's great if you like to hew your own planks, don't get me wrong.

[xxx]

nowadays, there is no need for a woodworker,
as Ikea provides you with planks,
that anyone can assemble themselves...

[Raphael]

nowadays, there is no need for a woodworker,
as Ikea provides you with planks,
that anyone can assemble themselves...

People might have many different approaches to woodwork.

Some might prefer to cut down trees themselves and turn them into planks themselves as the first part of their woodworking.

Others might prefer to buy planks and use them for their woodwork.

Yet others might not want to do any woodwork at all, and prefer to buy finished wood products.

Not much of a point in arguing about that.