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

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.02512 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.02512/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 11 of its 84 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 5 Dec 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 11 of 11)

- [The optimality of syntactic dependency distances](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.15342/) (2020)
- [Anti dependency distance minimization in short sequences. A graph theoretic approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.05765/) (2019)
- [Minimum projective linearizations of trees in linear time](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.03277/) (2021)
- [The scarcity of crossing dependencies: a direct outcome of a specific constraint?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1601.03210/) (2016)
- [Are crossing dependencies really scarce?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.08324/) (2017)
- [Memory limitations are hidden in grammar](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.06629/) (2019)
- [Linear-time calculation of the expected sum of edge lengths in random projective linearizations of trees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03277/) (2021)
- [A stronger null hypothesis for crossing dependencies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1410.5485/) (2014)
- [A correction on Shiloach's algorithm for minimum linear arrangement of trees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.01061/) (2015)
- [A Maximum Linear Arrangement Problem on Directed Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.12277/) (2018)
- [Generalized Optimal Linear Orders](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.10692/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Contrasting Linguistic Patterns in Human and LLM-Generated News Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.09067/) (2023)
- [The distribution of syntactic dependency distances](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.14620/) (2022)
- [The expected sum of edge lengths in planar linearizations of trees. Theory and applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.05564/) (2022)
- [Better Benchmarking LLMs for Zero-Shot Dependency Parsing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20866/) (2025)
- [The Maximum Linear Arrangement Problem for trees under projectivity and planarity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06924/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

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.