How to measure the optimality of word or gesture order with respect to the principle of swap distance minimization
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866910216979742720 |
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| author | Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon |
| author_facet | Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon |
| contents | The structure of all the permutations of a sequence can be represented as a permutohedron, a graph where vertices are permutations and two vertices are linked if a swap of adjacent elements in the permutation of one of the vertices produces the permutation of the other vertex. It has been hypothesized that word orders in languages minimize the swap distance in the permutohedron: given a source order, word orders that are closer in the permutohedron should be less costly and thus more likely. Here we explain how to measure the degree of optimality of word order variation with respect to swap distance minimization. We illustrate the power of our novel mathematical framework by showing that crosslinguistic gestures are at least $77\%$ optimal. It is unlikely that the multiple times where crosslinguistic gestures hit optimality are due to chance. We establish the theoretical foundations for research on the optimality of word or gesture order with respect to swap distance minimization in communication systems. Finally, we introduce the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) into language research as an umbrella for multiple optimization problems and, accordingly, postulate a general principle of optimal assignment that unifies various linguistic principles including swap distance minimization. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_01938 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | How to measure the optimality of word or gesture order with respect to the principle of swap distance minimization Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon Computation and Language Statistical Mechanics Physics and Society The structure of all the permutations of a sequence can be represented as a permutohedron, a graph where vertices are permutations and two vertices are linked if a swap of adjacent elements in the permutation of one of the vertices produces the permutation of the other vertex. It has been hypothesized that word orders in languages minimize the swap distance in the permutohedron: given a source order, word orders that are closer in the permutohedron should be less costly and thus more likely. Here we explain how to measure the degree of optimality of word order variation with respect to swap distance minimization. We illustrate the power of our novel mathematical framework by showing that crosslinguistic gestures are at least $77\%$ optimal. It is unlikely that the multiple times where crosslinguistic gestures hit optimality are due to chance. We establish the theoretical foundations for research on the optimality of word or gesture order with respect to swap distance minimization in communication systems. Finally, we introduce the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) into language research as an umbrella for multiple optimization problems and, accordingly, postulate a general principle of optimal assignment that unifies various linguistic principles including swap distance minimization. |
| title | How to measure the optimality of word or gesture order with respect to the principle of swap distance minimization |
| topic | Computation and Language Statistical Mechanics Physics and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01938 |