randModifier

Puts a random modifier in front of a string, or of every string in an array, so Owl becomes MistyOwl. It takes any string rather than only this library's output, and with none at all it hands back the modifier itself.

It is a function rather than a nickname option for the same reason randSuffix is: decorating a string is a thing about strings rather than about nicknames.

import { randAnimal, randModifier } from 'randino';

randModifier('Owl'); // 'MistyOwl'
randModifier('Owl', { separator: ' ' }); // 'Misty Owl'
randModifier(); // 'Misty'

randModifier(randAnimal({ language: 'en', count: 2 }));
// ['TwinklingLynx', 'OnyxCrane']

Option	Type	Default	Description
value	string | string[]	—	What to decorate. The first argument, not an option. Omit it for the modifier alone
language	WordLanguageOption	script	Language the modifier is drawn from
realism	RandRealism	'real'	real draws a modifier the language uses, invented builds one that only reads like it
kind	ModifierKind | 'all'	'all'	adjective says what the value is like, action what it is doing
separator	string	language	Placed between the modifier and the value
random	() => number	—	Where the randomness comes from — see Choosing the source

Returns a string for a string, and a string[] for a string[].

import 'package:randino/randino.dart';

randModifier(value: 'Owl'); // 'MistyOwl'
randModifier(value: 'Owl', separator: ' '); // 'Misty Owl'
randModifier(); // 'Misty'

randModifierAll(randAnimal(language: WordLanguage.en, count: 2));
// [TwinklingLynx, OnyxCrane]

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
value	String?	null	What to decorate. Omit it for the modifier alone
language	WordLanguage?	script	Language the modifier is drawn from
realism	RandRealism	RandRealism.real	real draws a real modifier, invented builds one
kind	ModifierKind?	null	adjective says what the value is like, action what it is doing
separator	String?	language	Placed between the modifier and the value
random	Random?	null	Where the randomness comes from — see Choosing the source

Returns a String. randModifierAll is the list form, the way randSuffixAll is for randSuffix.

from randino import rand_animal, rand_modifier

rand_modifier("Owl")  # 'MistyOwl'
rand_modifier("Owl", separator=" ")  # 'Misty Owl'
rand_modifier()  # 'Misty'

rand_modifier(rand_animal(language="en", count=2))
# ['TwinklingLynx', 'OnyxCrane']

Argument	Type	Default	Description
value	str | list[str] | None	None	What to decorate. Positional; the rest are keyword-only
language	WordLanguageOption | None	script	Language the modifier is drawn from
realism	RandRealism	"real"	real draws a real modifier, invented builds one
kind	ModifierKind | Literal["all"]	"all"	adjective says what the value is like, action what it is doing
separator	str | None	language	Placed between the modifier and the value
random	Callable[[], float] | None	None	Where the randomness comes from — see Choosing the source

Returns a str for a str, and a list[str] for a list[str], carried by @overload.

The script of the value picks the language

Left out, language is read off the value itself, so '고양이' is never handed an English modifier and 'Cat' is never handed a Korean one. Pass one explicitly and it wins; pass 'all'null"all" and every language is in play regardless of what the value is written in.

randModifier('고양이'); // '하얀고양이' — Korean, from the script
randModifier('Cat'); // 'FlyingCat'
randModifier('고양이', { language: 'en' }); // 'Misty고양이'

randModifier(value: '고양이'); // '하얀고양이' — Korean, from the script
randModifier(value: 'Cat'); // 'FlyingCat'
randModifier(value: '고양이', language: WordLanguage.en); // 'Misty고양이'

rand_modifier("고양이")  # '하얀고양이' — Korean, from the script
rand_modifier("Cat")  # 'FlyingCat'
rand_modifier("고양이", language="en")  # 'Misty고양이'

With no value there is no script to read, so every language is in play unless you name one.

The modifier agrees with the value

In a language whose modifiers change shape beside the noun, randModifier looks the value up in that language's pools. A word it finds carries a gender, so the modifier comes back in the form that goes with it. A word from no pool is read by its ending instead, the way the language itself reads an unfamiliar one. Spanish takes -a, -ión and -dad as feminine, Russian -а and -о, and German the four suffixes that are predictable, so a made-up word gets a modifier that agrees with it too.

A noun with no singular at all, such as ножницы, gafas or Jeans, is tagged plural for the same reason, so the modifier beside it is plural too.

randModifier('luna', { language: 'es' }); // 'luna dorada'
randModifier('gato', { language: 'es' }); // 'gato dorado'
randModifier('gafas', { language: 'es' }); // 'gafas doradas'
randModifier('Katze', { language: 'de' }); // 'blaue Katze'
randModifier('Zzyzx', { language: 'es' }); // 'Zzyzx dorado' — not a word it knows

randModifier(value: 'luna', language: WordLanguage.es); // 'luna dorada'
randModifier(value: 'gato', language: WordLanguage.es); // 'gato dorado'
randModifier(value: 'gafas', language: WordLanguage.es); // 'gafas doradas'
randModifier(value: 'Katze', language: WordLanguage.de); // 'blaue Katze'
randModifier(value: 'Zzyzx', language: WordLanguage.es); // 'Zzyzx dorado'

rand_modifier("luna", language="es")  # 'luna dorada'
rand_modifier("gato", language="es")  # 'gato dorado'
rand_modifier("gafas", language="es")  # 'gafas doradas'
rand_modifier("Katze", language="de")  # 'blaue Katze'
rand_modifier("Zzyzx", language="es")  # 'Zzyzx dorado' — not a word it knows

The five languages whose modifiers do not change shape, ko, en, ja, zh and vi, are unaffected. There is nothing to agree with, so any value gets any modifier.

kind picks what the modifier says

A modifier either says what the value is like or what it is doing, and they are two pools rather than one. kind picks between them, and left out, both are in play.

randModifier({ language: 'en', kind: 'adjective' }); // 'Coral'
randModifier({ language: 'en', kind: 'action' }); // 'Bobbing'

randModifier('Owl', { language: 'en', kind: 'action' }); // 'CountingOwl'
randModifier('사자', { language: 'ko', kind: 'action' }); // '숨기는사자'

randModifier(language: WordLanguage.en, kind: ModifierKind.adjective); // 'Coral'
randModifier(language: WordLanguage.en, kind: ModifierKind.action); // 'Bobbing'

randModifier(value: 'Owl', language: WordLanguage.en, kind: ModifierKind.action);
// 'CountingOwl'
randModifier(value: '사자', language: WordLanguage.ko, kind: ModifierKind.action);
// '숨기는사자'

rand_modifier(language="en", kind="adjective")  # 'Coral'
rand_modifier(language="en", kind="action")  # 'Bobbing'

rand_modifier("Owl", language="en", kind="action")  # 'CountingOwl'
rand_modifier("사자", language="ko", kind="action")  # '숨기는사자'

The two are kept apart because they are different grammar. A language may need a particle between an action and its noun where an adjective needs none, which is why Chinese writes 奔跑的狮子 and 快乐狮子. randNickname's slots is the same distinction, made where a whole shape is being picked.

A fresh modifier for every value

The modifier is drawn per value rather than once for the batch, the same way randSuffix draws its token. That is the reason an array is worth passing.

randModifier(['Owl', 'Owl', 'Owl']);
// ['SunnyOwl', 'WoolenOwl', 'TealOwl']

randModifierAll(const ['Owl', 'Owl', 'Owl']);
// [SunnyOwl, WoolenOwl, TealOwl]

rand_modifier(["Owl", "Owl", "Owl"])
# ['SunnyOwl', 'WoolenOwl', 'TealOwl']

The separator, and invented modifiers

separator defaults to the way the language itself joins words, which is to run them together. realism is the same option every generator has: real draws a modifier the language actually uses, invented builds one that only reads like it.

randModifier('Owl', { separator: '-' }); // 'Pointed-Owl'
randModifier({ language: 'en', realism: 'invented' }); // 'Snikith'

randModifier(value: 'Owl', separator: '-'); // 'Pointed-Owl'
randModifier(language: WordLanguage.en, realism: RandRealism.invented); // 'Snikith'

rand_modifier("Owl", separator="-")  # 'Pointed-Owl'
rand_modifier(language="en", realism="invented")  # 'Snikith'

The modifier and the noun are the same pools a nickname uses

A modifier in front of a word is what randNickname does most of the time, so randModifier(randAnimal())randModifier(value: randAnimal().first)rand_modifier(rand_animal()) and randNickname({ theme: 'animal' }) reach into the same place. What the nickname generator adds is the shapes and the length fitting: a trailing word, a range the whole thing has to land inside, and a re-draw when two words stutter across their boundary.

See also

• randWord — the words this is usually put in front of.
• randSuffix — a random token instead of a word.
• randNickname — the same pools, composed rather than decorated.
• Supported languages — where the modifier goes in each language, and when it changes shape.