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GlotBase - Conlang Builder & Archive

GlotBase is a modern web application for building and documenting constructed languages (conlangs). Designed specifically to accommodate complex language systems with multi-script support, flexible word orders, and advanced morphology.

Status React TypeScript Vite

✨ Key Features

📊 Dashboard

Real-time statistics, progress tracking, and analytics for your conlang development.

📖 Smart Lexicon

  • Multi-Script Support - Jawi, Arabic, Tengwar, or any custom writing system
  • RTL Support - Automatic right-to-left rendering
  • Comprehensive Fields - Native script, romanization, IPA, etymology, gender, tags
  • IPA Virtual Keyboard - Click-to-insert vowels, consonants, diacritics, and tone marks
  • Custom Gender System - Neutral, Masculine, Feminine, Divine, or user-defined
  • Full CRUD - Create, read, update, delete with search

⚙️ Affix Calculator

  • Rule Management - Full CRUD for morphological rules (prefix, suffix, infix, circumfix)
  • Auto-Generation - Generate derived words from root words
  • Native Script Support ⭐ - Automatically generates Jawi/Arabic script for derived words
  • Preview System - See results before generating
  • Perfect for Austronesian Languages - Complex affixation support

✍️ Sentence Builder

  • Universal Word Order ⭐ - Validates all 6 patterns:
    • VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) - Welsh, Arabic
    • SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) - English, Mandarin
    • SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) - Japanese, Korean
    • VOS, OVS, OSV - Rare patterns supported
  • Real-time Validation - Visual feedback for sentence structure
  • Pattern Visualization - See your sentence's word order pattern
  • Sentence History - Save and reference valid sentences

💾 Export/Import

  • JSON Export - Full backup with all metadata
  • CSV Export - Spreadsheet-compatible (Excel, Google Sheets)
  • JSON Import - Restore from backups
  • Auto-naming - Timestamped file names

🎨 Modern Design

  • Premium Dark Theme - Glassmorphism effects
  • Fully Responsive - Mobile, tablet, desktop
  • Smooth Animations - Polished UX
  • Quality Typography - Inter (UI), Scheherazade New (Arabic/Jawi)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+
  • npm

Installation

Important: Replace <repository-url> with the real URL of your GitHub repository or fork. Do not copy https://github.com/yourusername/glotbase.git; that was only a placeholder and will return Repository not found.

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd glotbase

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

# Open in browser
http://localhost:5173

PowerShell example after you copy the real URL from GitHub's Code button:

git clone https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>.git
cd .\glotbase
npm install
npm run dev

Build for Production

npm run build
npm run preview

✏️ Usage Guide

1. Adding Words

Navigate to Lexicon → + Add Word:

  • Native Script: Your conlang's writing system (Jawi, Tengwar, etc.)
  • Romanization: Latin transliteration
  • IPA: Phonetic transcription (optional)
  • Part of Speech: Noun, verb, adjective, etc.
  • Gender: Neutral, Masculine, Feminine, Divine, or Custom
  • Etymology: Track word origins
  • Tags: Categorize (basic, nature, divine, etc.)

2. Creating Affix Rules

Go to Affix Calculator → + Add Rule:

  • Name: e.g., "Nominalizer -an"
  • Type: Prefix, Suffix, Infix, or Circumfix
  • Pattern: Use $ROOT as placeholder
    • Prefix: me-$ROOT
    • Suffix: $ROOT-an
    • Circumfix: ke-$ROOT-an
  • Example: makan → makanan

New! Native script auto-generation:

Root: makan (ماكن)
+ Suffix "-an"
= makanan (ماكنan)

3. Generating Derived Words

  1. Select a root word
  2. Check affix rules to apply
  3. Preview results (shows romanization + native script)
  4. Click Generate - derived words auto-added to lexicon!

4. Testing Word Order

Go to Sentence Builder:

  1. Select your word order (VSO, SVO, SOV, etc.)
  2. Add word slots
  3. Fill with words from your lexicon
  4. See real-time validation and pattern visualization
  5. Save valid sentences to history

🏗️ Technology Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React 18 + TypeScript
Build Tool Vite 6
Styling Vanilla CSS + Custom Properties
State React Context API
Storage LocalStorage (browser-based)

📁 Project Structure

glotbase/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── Dashboard.tsx         # Statistics & analytics
│   │   ├── SmartLexicon.tsx      # Lexicon manager
│   │   ├── AffixCalculator.tsx   # Morphology engine
│   │   ├── SentenceBuilder.tsx   # Word order validator
│   │   └── ExportImport.tsx      # Backup system
│   ├── context/
│   │   ├── LexiconContext.tsx    # Word state
│   │   └── AffixContext.tsx      # Affix rules state
│   ├── utils/
│   │   ├── affixEngine.ts        # Native script generation
│   │   ├── syntaxValidator.ts    # Multi-pattern validation
│   │   ├── exportImport.ts       # File I/O
│   │   └── storage.ts            # LocalStorage wrapper
│   ├── types/
│   │   └── schema.ts             # TypeScript definitions
│   └── index.css                 # Global styles & design system
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── vite.config.ts

🌍 Supported Writing Systems

GlotBase is script-agnostic and supports any writing system:

✅ Jawi (Arabic-Malay) ✅ Arabic ✅ Tengwar (Elvish) ✅ Hangul (Korean) ✅ Katakana/Hiragana (Japanese) ✅ Cyrillic ✅ Devanagari ✅ Custom invented scripts

All RTL (right-to-left) scripts automatically supported.

💡 Perfect For

Austronesian-Inspired Languages

  • ✅ Complex affixation (prefix, suffix, infix, circumfix)
  • ✅ VSO word order validation
  • ✅ Jawi/Arabic script with auto-generation
  • ✅ Divine gender for sacred terminology

Tolkien-Style Conlangs

  • ✅ Tengwar or custom scripts
  • ✅ Etymology tracking
  • ✅ Root/derived word system

D&D Campaign Languages

  • ✅ Quick word generation
  • ✅ Tag system (magic, divine, nature)
  • ✅ Export to share with players

Academic Linguistics

  • ✅ IPA transcription
  • ✅ Morphology documentation
  • ✅ Multi-pattern syntax testing

##🔮 Roadmap

✅ Completed (v2.1)

  • Dashboard with real-time stats
  • Smart Lexicon (multi-script, CRUD, search)
  • Affix Calculator with native script generation
  • Sentence Builder (all 6 word orders)
  • Export/Import (JSON & CSV)
  • Custom gender systems
  • Edit rules functionality

🚧 Planned (v3.0)

  • Grammar Wiki - Markdown documentation
  • Phonology Editor - Sound inventory management
  • Batch Generation - Multiple root words at once
  • Rule Categories - Organize rules by function

🔮 Future (v4.0+)

  • PDF dictionary export
  • Cloud sync (optional)
  • Multi-language UI
  • Corpus manager

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Areas for contribution:

  • Additional POS categories
  • Phonology tools
  • Grammar templates
  • Export formats
  • UI translations
# Fork the project on GitHub, then clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/<your-github-username>/<your-fork-name>.git
cd <your-fork-name>

# Install and develop
npm install
npm run dev

# Create a PR!

📄 License

Open source for personal and educational use. Fork and customize for your conlang needs!

🙏 Acknowledgments

Built with 💜 for conlangers worldwide

Fonts:

Inspiration:

  • PolyGlot, Lexique Pro
  • The conlanging community

📸 Screenshots

Dashboard

Dashboard Real-time statistics and progress tracking

Smart Lexicon

Lexicon Multi-script word entry

Affix Calculator

Affix Calculator Auto-generate derived words with native script

Sentence Builder

Sentence Builder Universal word order validation

📞 Support

  • 🐛 Report issues from the Issues tab of the repository you cloned.
  • 💬 Start discussions from the Discussions tab if it is enabled for that repository.

Happy Conlanging! 🌐✨

⭐ If you find GlotBase useful, please consider starring the repo!

Made with love for conlangers, by conlangers.