Frozen Binomials on the Web: Word Ordering and Language Conventions in Online Text

Abstract

There is inherent information captured in the order in which we write words in a list. The orderings of binomials --- lists of two words separated by `and' or `or' --- has been studied for more than a century. These binomials are common across many areas of speech, in both formal and informal text. In the last century, numerous explanations have been given to describe what order people use for these binomials, from differences in semantics to differences in phonology. These rules describe primarily `frozen' binomials that exist in exactly one ordering and have lacked large-scale trials to determine efficacy. Online text provides a unique opportunity to study these lists in the context of informal text at a very large scale. In this work, we expand the view of binomials to include a large-scale analysis of both frozen and non-frozen binomials in a quantitative way. Using this data, we then demonstrate that most previously proposed rules are ineffective at predicting binomial ordering. By tracking the order of these binomials across time and communities we are able to establish additional, unexplored dimensions central to these predictions. Expanding beyond the question of individual binomials, we also explore the global structure of binomials in various communities, establishing a new model for these lists and analyzing this structure for non-frozen and frozen binomials. Additionally, novel analysis of trinomials --- lists of length three --- suggests that none of the binomials analysis applies in these cases. Finally, we demonstrate how large data sets gleaned from the web can be used in conjunction with older theories to expand and improve on old questions.