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Researcher profile

Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho

Ramon Ferrer-i-Cancho contributes to research discovery and scholarly infrastructure.

ResearcherAffiliation not importedOpen to collaborate
Computation and Languagephysics.soc-phDiscrete Mathematicsphysics.data-anSocial and Information NetworksInformation Theorymath.ITcond-mat.stat-mechData Structures and Algorithmsmath.CONeurons and Cognitionnlin.AO

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Published work

20 published item(s)

preprint2026arXiv

Ease of dependency distance minimization in star-like structures

The syntactic structure of a sentence can be represented as a tree where edges indicate syntactic dependencies between words. When that structure is a star, it has been demonstrated that the head should be placed in the middle of the linear arrangement according to the principle of syntactic dependency distance minimization. However, hubs of stars tend to be put at one of the ends, against that principle. Here we address two questions: (1) How difficult is it to minimize dependency distance? (2) Why anti dependency distance minimization effects have been found in star structures but not in path structures? The ease of optimization is determined by the shape of the optimization landscape. It was demonstrated that the landscape of star structures is quasiconvex (Ferrer-i-Cancho 2015, Language Dynamics and Change). As for (1), here we show that it is indeed convex (a particular case of quasiconvexity) both for star trees and quasistar trees and thus the distance-based optimization problem is simpler than previously believed. As for (2), we argue that (a) competing principles, rather than the difficulty of optimization, must be the actual reason for anti-dependency distance minimization effects and that (b) dependency distance minimization on star-like structures is less rewarding compared to other structures.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2026arXiv

Swap distance minimization beyond entropy minimization in word order variation

Consider a linguistic structure formed by $n$ elements, for instance, subject, direct object and verb ($n=3$) or subject, direct object, indirect object and verb ($n=4$). We investigate whether the frequency of the $n!$ possible orders is constrained by two principles. First, entropy minimization, a principle that has been suggested to shape natural communication systems at distinct levels of organization. Second, swap distance minimization, namely a preference for word orders that require fewer swaps of adjacent elements to be produced from a source order. We present average swap distance, a novel score for research on swap distance minimization. We find strong evidence of pressure for entropy minimization and swap distance minimization with respect to a die rolling experiment in distinct linguistic structures with $n=3$ or $n=4$. Evidence with respect to a Polya urn process is strong for $n=4$ but weaker for $n=3$. We still find evidence consistent with the action of swap distance minimization when word order frequencies are shuffled, indicating that swap distance minimization effects are beyond pressure to reduce word order entropy.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2026arXiv

Swap distance minimization shapes the order of subject, object and verb in languages of the world

Languages of the world vary concerning the order of subject, object and verb. The most frequent dominant orders are SOV and SVO, and researchers have tailored models to this fact. However, there are still languages whose dominant order does not conform to these expectations or even lack a dominant order. Here we show that across linguistic families and macroareas, word order variation within languages is shaped by the principle of swap distance minimization even when the dominant order is not SOV/SVO and even when a dominant order is lacking.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2021arXiv

Bounds of the sum of edge lengths in linear arrangements of trees

A fundamental problem in network science is the normalization of the topological or physical distance between vertices, that requires understanding the range of variation of the unnormalized distances. Here we investigate the limits of the variation of the physical distance in linear arrangements of the vertices of trees. In particular, we investigate various problems on the sum of edge lengths in trees of a fixed size: the minimum and the maximum value of the sum for specific trees, the minimum and the maximum in classes of trees (bistar trees and caterpillar trees) and finally the minimum and the maximum for any tree. We establish some foundations for research on optimality scores for spatial networks in one dimension.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2021arXiv

The Linear Arrangement Library. A new tool for research on syntactic dependency structures

The new and growing field of Quantitative Dependency Syntax has emerged at the crossroads between Dependency Syntax and Quantitative Linguistics. One of the main concerns in this field is the statistical patterns of syntactic dependency structures. These structures, grouped in treebanks, are the source for statistical analyses in these and related areas; dozens of scores devised over the years are the tools of a new industry to search for patterns and perform other sorts of analyses. The plethora of such metrics and their increasing complexity require sharing the source code of the programs used to perform such analyses. However, such code is not often shared with the scientific community or is tested following unknown standards. Here we present a new open-source tool, the Linear Arrangement Library (LAL), which caters to the needs of, especially, inexperienced programmers. This tool enables the calculation of these metrics on single syntactic dependency structures, treebanks, and collection of treebanks, grounded on ease of use and yet with great flexibility. LAL has been designed to be efficient, easy to use (while satisfying the needs of all levels of programming expertise), reliable (thanks to thorough testing), and to unite research from different traditions, geographic areas, and research fields.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2021arXiv

The optimality of syntactic dependency distances

It is often stated that human languages, as other biological systems, are shaped by cost-cutting pressures but, to what extent? Attempts to quantify the degree of optimality of languages by means of an optimality score have been scarce and focused mostly on English. Here we recast the problem of the optimality of the word order of a sentence as an optimization problem on a spatial network where the vertices are words, arcs indicate syntactic dependencies and the space is defined by the linear order of the words in the sentence. We introduce a new score to quantify the cognitive pressure to reduce the distance between linked words in a sentence. The analysis of sentences from 93 languages representing 19 linguistic families reveals that half of languages are optimized to a 70% or more. The score indicates that distances are not significantly reduced in a few languages and confirms two theoretical predictions, i.e. that longer sentences are more optimized and that distances are more likely to be longer than expected by chance in short sentences. We present a new hierarchical ranking of languages by their degree of optimization. The new score has implications for various fields of language research (dependency linguistics, typology, historical linguistics, clinical linguistics and cognitive science). Finally, the principles behind the design of the score have implications for network science.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Edge crossings in random linear arrangements

In spatial networks vertices are arranged in some space and edges may cross. When arranging vertices in a 1-dimensional lattice edges may cross when drawn above the vertex sequence as it happens in linguistic and biological networks. Here we investigate the general of problem of the distribution of edge crossings in random arrangements of the vertices. We generalize the existing formula for the expectation of this number in random linear arrangements of trees to any network and derive an expression for the variance of the number of crossings in an arbitrary layout relying on a novel characterization of the algebraic structure of that variance in an arbitrary space. We provide compact formulae for the expectation and the variance in complete graphs, complete bipartite graphs, cycle graphs, one-regular graphs and various kinds of trees (star trees, quasi-star trees and linear trees). In these networks, the scaling of expectation and variance as a function of network size is asymptotically power-law-like in random linear arrangements. Our work paves the way for further research and applications in 1-dimension or investigating the distribution of the number of crossings in lattices of higher dimension or other embeddings.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2020arXiv

Reappraising the distribution of the number of edge crossings of graphs on a sphere

Many real transportation and mobility networks have their vertices placed on the surface of the Earth. In such embeddings, the edges laid on that surface may cross. In his pioneering research, Moon analyzed the distribution of the number of crossings on complete graphs and complete bipartite graphs whose vertices are located uniformly at random on the surface of a sphere assuming that vertex placements are independent from each other. Here we revise his derivation of that variance in the light of recent theoretical developments on the variance of crossings and computer simulations. We show that Moon's formulae are inaccurate in predicting the true variance and provide exact formulae.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2019arXiv

Anti dependency distance minimization in short sequences. A graph theoretic approach

Dependency distance minimization (DDm) is a word order principle favouring the placement of syntactically related words close to each other in sentences. Massive evidence of the principle has been reported for more than a decade with the help of syntactic dependency treebanks where long sentences abound. However, it has been predicted theoretically that the principle is more likely to be beaten in short sequences by the principle of surprisal minimization (predictability maximization). Here we introduce a simple binomial test to verify such a hypothesis. In short sentences, we find anti-DDm for some languages from different families. Our analysis of the syntactic dependency structures suggests that anti-DDm is produced by star trees.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2019arXiv

The polysemy of the words that children learn over time

Here we study polysemy as a potential learning bias in vocabulary learning in children. Words of low polysemy could be preferred as they reduce the disambiguation effort for the listener. However, such preference could be a side-effect of another bias: the preference of children for nouns in combination with the lower polysemy of nouns with respect to other part-of-speech categories. Our results show that mean polysemy in children increases over time in two phases, i.e. a fast growth till the 31st month followed by a slower tendency towards adult speech. In contrast, this evolution is not found in adults interacting with children. This suggests that children have a preference for non-polysemous words in their early stages of vocabulary acquisition. Interestingly, the evolutionary pattern described above weakens when controlling for syntactic category (noun, verb, adjective or adverb) but it does not disappear completely, suggesting that it could result from acombination of a standalone bias for low polysemy and a preference for nouns.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2017arXiv

Optimization models of natural communication

A family of information theoretic models of communication was introduced more than a decade ago to explain the origins of Zipf's law for word frequencies. The family is a based on a combination of two information theoretic principles: maximization of mutual information between forms and meanings and minimization of form entropy. The family also sheds light on the origins of three other patterns: the principle of contrast, a related vocabulary learning bias and the meaning-frequency law. Here two important components of the family, namely the information theoretic principles and the energy function that combines them linearly, are reviewed from the perspective of psycholinguistics, language learning, information theory and synergetic linguistics. The minimization of this linear function is linked to the problem of compression of standard information theory and might be tuned by self-organization.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2017arXiv

The origins of Zipf's meaning-frequency law

In his pioneering research, G. K. Zipf observed that more frequent words tend to have more meanings, and showed that the number of meanings of a word grows as the square root of its frequency. He derived this relationship from two assumptions: that words follow Zipf's law for word frequencies (a power law dependency between frequency and rank) and Zipf's law of meaning distribution (a power law dependency between number of meanings and rank). Here we show that a single assumption on the joint probability of a word and a meaning suffices to infer Zipf's meaning-frequency law or relaxed versions. Interestingly, this assumption can be justified as the outcome of a biased random walk in the process of mental exploration.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Compression and the origins of Zipf's law for word frequencies

Here we sketch a new derivation of Zipf's law for word frequencies based on optimal coding. The structure of the derivation is reminiscent of Mandelbrot's random typing model but it has multiple advantages over random typing: (1) it starts from realistic cognitive pressures (2) it does not require fine tuning of parameters and (3) it sheds light on the origins of other statistical laws of language and thus can lead to a compact theory of linguistic laws. Our findings suggest that the recurrence of Zipf's law in human languages could originate from pressure for easy and fast communication.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2016arXiv

Kauffman's adjacent possible in word order evolution

Word order evolution has been hypothesized to be constrained by a word order permutation ring: transitions involving orders that are closer in the permutation ring are more likely. The hypothesis can be seen as a particular case of Kauffman's adjacent possible in word order evolution. Here we consider the problem of the association of the six possible orders of S, V and O to yield a couple of primary alternating orders as a window to word order evolution. We evaluate the suitability of various competing hypotheses to predict one member of the couple from the other with the help of information theoretic model selection. Our ensemble of models includes a six-way model that is based on the word order permutation ring (Kauffman's adjacent possible) and another model based on the dual two-way of standard typology, that reduces word order to basic orders preferences (e.g., a preference for SV over VS and another for SO over OS). Our analysis indicates that the permutation ring yields the best model when favoring parsimony strongly, providing support for Kauffman's general view and a six-way typology.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2015arXiv

Reply to the commentary "Be careful when assuming the obvious", by P. Alday

Here we respond to some comments by Alday concerning headedness in linguistic theory and the validity of the assumptions of a mathematical model for word order. For brevity, we focus only on two assumptions: the unit of measurement of dependency length and the monotonicity of the cost of a dependency as a function of its length. We also revise the implicit psychological bias in Alday's comments. Notwithstanding, Alday is indicating the path for linguistic research with his unusual concerns about parsimony from multiple dimensions.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2015arXiv

The placement of the head that minimizes online memory: a complex systems approach

It is well known that the length of a syntactic dependency determines its online memory cost. Thus, the problem of the placement of a head and its dependents (complements or modifiers) that minimizes online memory is equivalent to the problem of the minimum linear arrangement of a star tree. However, how that length is translated into cognitive cost is not known. This study shows that the online memory cost is minimized when the head is placed at the center, regardless of the function that transforms length into cost, provided only that this function is strictly monotonically increasing. Online memory defines a quasi-convex adaptive landscape with a single central minimum if the number of elements is odd and two central minima if that number is even. We discuss various aspects of the dynamics of word order of subject (S), verb (V) and object (O) from a complex systems perspective and suggest that word orders tend to evolve by swapping adjacent constituents from an initial or early SOV configuration that is attracted towards a central word order by online memory minimization. We also suggest that the stability of SVO is due to at least two factors, the quasi-convex shape of the adaptive landscape in the online memory dimension and online memory adaptations that avoid regression to SOV. Although OVS is also optimal for placing the verb at the center, its low frequency is explained by its long distance to the seminal SOV in the permutation space.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access
preprint2014arXiv

Non-crossing dependencies: least effort, not grammar

The use of null hypotheses (in a statistical sense) is common in hard sciences but not in theoretical linguistics. Here the null hypothesis that the low frequency of syntactic dependency crossings is expected by an arbitrary ordering of words is rejected. It is shown that this would require star dependency structures, which are both unrealistic and too restrictive. The hypothesis of the limited resources of the human brain is revisited. Stronger null hypotheses taking into account actual dependency lengths for the likelihood of crossings are presented. Those hypotheses suggests that crossings are likely to reduce when dependencies are shortened. A hypothesis based on pressure to reduce dependency lengths is more parsimonious than a principle of minimization of crossings or a grammatical ban that is totally dissociated from the general and non-linguistic principle of economy.

0 citations0 reviewsNo code linkedOpen access