arXiv:2410.11718cs.CL2024-10被引 23

多语言大模型在训练中逐渐形成通用语义空间,实现跨语言统一表征。

Converging to a Lingua Franca: Evolution of Linguistic Regions and Semantics Alignment in Multilingual Large Language Models

  • 发现模型中存在处理相同语言的特化神经元区域。
  • 不同语言表达相同语义时激活模式趋同,形成共享语义空间。
  • 首尾层神经元主导语言特征提取,随训练变密集,适合研究跨语言机制。

大型语言模型(LLMs)在多语言场景下表现优异,但其跨语言能力的内在机制尚不明确。我们观察到,模型在处理同一语言时神经元激活模式具有相似性,揭示了关键语言区域的存在与位置。此外,当不同语言表达相同语义时,神经元激活模式也趋于一致,表明模型将跨语言输入映射到一个“通用语”(Lingua Franca)——即共享的语义潜在空间,实现一致处理。这种语义对齐随训练推进和模型规模增大而增强,使激活模式更趋语言无关。实验基于BLOOM和LLaMA2验证了该现象,显示多语言大模型在训练与扩展过程中存在结构演化。本研究揭示了模型内部运作机制,为提升其跨语言能力提供了基础。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance, particularly in multilingual contexts. While recent studies suggest that LLMs can transfer skills learned in one language to others, the internal mechanisms behind this ability remain unclear. We observed that the neuron activation patterns of LLMs exhibit similarities when processing the same language, revealing the existence and location of key linguistic regions. Additionally, we found that neuron activation patterns are similar when processing sentences with the same semantic meaning in different languages. This indicates that LLMs map semantically identical inputs from different languages into a "Lingua Franca", a common semantic latent space that allows for consistent processing across languages. This semantic alignment becomes more pronounced with training and increased model size, resulting in a more language-agnostic activation pattern. Moreover, we found that key linguistic neurons are concentrated in the first and last layers of LLMs, becoming denser in the first layers as training progresses. Experiments on BLOOM and LLaMA2 support these findings, highlighting the structural evolution of multilingual LLMs during training and scaling up. This paper provides insights into the internal workings of LLMs, offering a foundation for future improvements in their cross-lingual capabilities.

多语言模型语义对齐神经机制语言空间

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