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Table of Contents

1. What is this?
2. What is it used for?
3. How are names generated?
4. Let's get deep. What's a syllable?
5. How does Syllabore model syllables?
6. How does Syllabore generate names?

Overview

1. What is this?

• Syllabore is a library for procedural text generation

2. What is it used for?

• Syllabore is tailored for fantasy name generation
• It does not use pre-made lists of names, large language models, or generative AI services
• It can be embedded into a .NET app and used 100% offline

3. How are names generated?

• Syllabore constructs syllables out of graphemes (ie. vowels and consonants)
• Then it sequences syllables into names

4. Let's get deep. What's a syllable?

• A syllable consists of a nucleus and optional onset or coda
• A syllable has the following form: onset - nucleus - coda
• For example, the word github is composed of two syllables with the vowels 'i' and 'u' as the nuclei
• And the word breach, which is the same length, only has one syllable

5. How does Syllabore model syllables?

• Syllabore models syllables as onset - nucleus - coda, but with a different naming scheme
• The name scheme is is: leading consonant - vowel - trailing consonant
• While Syllabore uses the terms vowels and consonants to refer to nucleuses, onsets, and codas, there is nothing that would prevent you from defining non-vowels as nucleuses or non-consonants as onsets and codas
• By default, a syllable must have a vowel in Syllabore, but it is possible to configure syllable providers to generate syllables that have no vowels if that is what is desired

• Onset clusters are onsets with more than one consonant (eg. "tr"). In Syllabore, clusters are called sequences and onset clusters are called leading consonant sequences
• Syllabore also extends this concept to nucleuses and codas, so you will also see vowel sequences and trailing consonant sequences.

6. How does Syllabore generate names?

• Name generation is accomplished by first generating syllables from a pool of vowels and consonants, then structuring those syllables into names. There are three major components to a Syllabore name generator:
• Providers are used to provide randomly generated syllables. Internally they maintain a pool of nucleuses, onsets, codas, clusters, etc. which are used to construct syllables from scratch
• Transformers are an optional mechanism to randomly adjust or transform names during the generation process. This is useful in iterating or evolving a name by replacing syllables, swapping a vowel for another vowel, adding new components to the name, etc.
• Filters are an optional mechanism to validate syllable or letter sequences during name generation. A name generator will only output names that pass through its filter. This is useful in avoiding undesirable letter combinations and improve the quality of output

• At the bare minimum, you need to define vowels (#1) for the name generator to work. Then you'll want to throw in a few consonants (#2) so the output resembles names. Everything else is optional (#3).