On macOS, there are default keybindings for interacting with text like <Ctrl> + t to swap the places of the characters sourroundig the cursor like this: from “foo ba” to “foo ab”. Another default is that you can move the coursor word-wise, by using the <Option> + <Left or Right arrow key shortcut. For me it feels more natural to use the <Ctrl> key as modifier for this. To change this default, you have to create a ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.Dict as well as the folder containing it. Here is mine:

/* ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.Dict
This file remaps the key bindings of a single user on Mac OS X 10.12.2.

This applies to OS X 10.12.2 and possibly other versions.

Here is a rough cheatsheet for syntax.
Key Modifiers
^ : Ctrl
$ : Shift
~ : Option (Alt)
@ : Command (Apple)
# : Numeric Keypad

Non-Printable Key Codes

Up Arrow:     \UF700        Backspace:    \U0008        F1:           \UF704
Down Arrow:   \UF701        Tab:          \U0009        F2:           \UF705
Left Arrow:   \UF702        Escape:       \U001B        F3:           \UF706
Right Arrow:  \UF703        Enter:        \U000A        ...
Insert:       \UF727        Page Up:      \UF72C
Delete:       \UF728        Page Down:    \UF72D
Home:         \UF729        Print Screen: \UF72E
End:          \UF72B        Scroll Lock:  \UF72F
Break:        \UF732        Pause:        \UF730
SysReq:       \UF731        Menu:         \UF735
Help:         \UF746
*/

{
"^\UF702"  = "moveWordBackward:";                            /* Ctrl + LeftArrow */
"^\UF703"  = "moveWordForward:";                             /* Ctrl + RightArrow */
"^$\UF702" = "moveWordBackwardAndModifySelection:";   /* Ctrl + Shift + Leftarrow */
"^$\UF703" = "moveWordForwardAndModifySelection:";   /* Ctrl + Shift + Rightarrow */
}

I stole and customized Heisencoder's DefaultKeyBinding.Dict and all the helpful comments and lists belong to him.