History: random sentence generator

Source of version: 3 (current)

The random sentence generator can be found at [http://www.lojban.org/files/software/rndsen28.zip] and is fun to use when you're really bored and feel like translating some meaningless Lojban. The results are often amusing. It runs under ((DOSEMU)) with just a couple display glitches. When I ran it for the first time, it told me ''ko vu nabmi datka''. If only I knew how to remotely be a problematic duck. See also: * ((Jay's Random Sentence Generator)) * ((random lujvo)) ---- I wrote a ((Perl)) program which can take a YACC-esque description of a language and generate random sentences, but it tends to never stop, as its recursive in its generation. Sigh. --((Jay Kominek|jay)) This was discussed at the 2001 Logfest, between nitcion, robin.CA, and Nora; Nora uses weights to steer the generation away from getting too deep. You may want to check notes with the latter two. -- ((nitcion)). I suppose I ought to. However, a bigger problem is with rules (I forget the correct name off the top my head, cycle, maybe?) where rule A is defined in terms of rule B, which is defined in terms of rule C, which is defined in terms of rule A. (Even if only half of the possible rules making up A reference B and half of B's reference C) Its not much fun to write code which detects those loops... --((Jay Kominek|jay)) Tail recursion, or whatever. This is a solved problem, though, isn't it? *shrug* -- nitcion Oh, I'm sure someone has done it. I'm just lazy. :) I'm thinking I'm gonna trying ((Google))'ing for it, though... --((Jay Kominek|jay)) Woo! I found a paper __Generating Strings at Random from a Context Free Grammar__, by ((Bruce McKenzie)). It can be downloaded from the University of Canterbury's CS [http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/research/reports/TechReps/|Technical Reports] (TR-COSC 10/97) I'll try to get this implemented tomorrow. Should be interesting. :) --((Jay Kominek|jay)) All righty, see ((Jay's Random Sentence Generator)). ---- Aside from the problematic duck one mentioned above, what are peoples good random sentences? I'll start with a few of my own. Others of mine are at ((lojban rock lyrics)), verse one. (Only one so far, but maybe not forever.) ''How about we vote for our favorites with "^name"?'' * ba le palne jatna cu xunre (Okay, I guess if we accept the idea of a tray-captain, he can be any color we want.) ** It actually means "after the tray captain, (something) is red." Most mysterious. * ko'e cu fulta cmene prane jorne (What the heck?) * le fanva cu sovda le carna lacri (the spinning relier's egg?) * ru cu lasna ko le dikca nupre (Dikca nupre ((would make a good name for a Lojbanic rock band)).) * do panka jalge (a story about how your parents met?) * fo'o cu marna * coi. djim. mi cu kanla (rather Daliesque...) * mi cu sovda prenu (Sounds like a Beatles lyric)''mi sovda prenu .i mi sovda prenu .i mi mabrxualra ((sa'ei)) kukukatc__u__s.'' (Egad. Now I've heard the nonsense words interpreted as both "Coo coo ka-choo" and "Goo goo ga-joo".) * mi'o ba cinri vo'e (Well at least someone cares...) * le gluta ca kerfa * di'u cu korka ko'i * la loras. cu rafsi la .atlstan. * do cu cmila do ''{cein}'' * la rik. loras. cu lunra ''{cein}'' * ko cu panka pei ''{cein}'' ** Is that "How do you feel about having to be a park"? Or "Be a park, and tell me what it feels like"? * lu le ba makfa cu citka ti li'u cukta tcika ''{cein}'' "The will-be magic eats this" is booktime. Here are some of my (mi'e ((tsali))) favourite examples: * ma'a panra li xo * le barda bilni cu .ue sfofa sfani (is "sofa fly" a ((kenning)) for "lazy and small"?) * kenra sodva loi gluta (I think I've heard people say something ''very'' similar to this about soda with artificial sweeteners) ^cein * .ai ba lanci * ninmu xutla (I could never think up such a nice ((tanru)) all by myself!) mi'e ((rab.spir)): * mu le vi na'e cradi cu genja ("non-radio" is a fun tanru) * lo'e mu mei cu palne ze tamji (that doesn't sound like a typical quintet to me) mi'e xod * I swear it just told me ''do fu zoi dirgo vindu jibni sazri glare alsjhasdfkjhasd stedu jdika ki'e na pikci go'o'' ** Which doesn't parse; jobfi'e complains of an "Unclosed zoi construction at end of file". mi'e ((pne|filip)) * na no'e go'a dotco vau vi'o do'u ("Something is not not-really-German in relation to what we talked about recently!" "OK, I'll do that." ?) * ko'i na gunka doi du linto do'u * do'i du bo te milti doi .izaBEL. .izaBEL. do'u * su'u ja'a te kalci co litce vau kei (The abstract nature of litres of what?) * go'i nei doi do'u cei co'e ra'o jai bu'a (or, how to say something without saying anything at all) * catke doi na vi co'u kadno do'u (Something is pushing, O person who has not stopped being Canadian here!) * ba vu bu'u nu'o ja'a jai rectu * zu'a so bi dau xo mai bajra * sivni nu'a su'i cilmo co xe kruvi sunga (private-plus moist-object of-type curved garlic?) It really seems to like bu'a, bu'e, bu'i and vocatives, sometimes empty ones (just "doi do'u"). mi'e gejyspa * ka'e jai sufti sarcu (said of a horseshoe?)