# Investigating Cross-Linguistic Adjective Ordering Tendencies with a Latent-Variable Model

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.04755 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.04755/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 9 Oct 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Black Big Boxes: Tracing Adjective Order Preferences in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.02136/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Across languages, multiple consecutive adjectives modifying a noun (e.g. "the big red dog") follow certain unmarked ordering rules. While explanatory accounts have been put forward, much of the work done in this area has relied primarily on the intuitive judgment of native speakers, rather than on corpus data. We present the first purely corpus-driven model of multi-lingual adjective ordering in the form of a latent-variable model that can accurately order adjectives across 24 different languages, even when the training and testing languages are different. We utilize this novel statistical model to provide strong converging evidence for the existence of universal, cross-linguistic, hierarchical adjective ordering tendencies.