语言结构影响大模型推理,中文和英文模型表现不同
Under the Shadow of Babel: How Language Shapes Reasoning in LLMs
- 构建双语因果数据集BICAUSE,对比中英文推理模式
- 中文模型更关注句首连接词,英语模型分布更均衡
- 模型会固化语言偏好,导致对非典型输入表现下降
语言不仅是交流工具,也是认知和推理的媒介。若语言结构影响思维模式,则基于人类语言训练的大语言模型(LLMs)也可能内化不同语言中的习惯性逻辑结构。为此,我们提出BICAUSE,一个用于因果推理的结构化双语数据集,包含语义对齐的中英文样本,涵盖正向与逆向因果形式。研究发现:(1)模型表现出与语言类型一致的注意力模式,中文中更关注原因和句首连接词,英语则分布更均衡;(2)模型内化了特定语言的因果词序偏好,对非典型输入刚性应用,尤其在中文中性能下降显著;(3)当推理成功时,模型表示在跨语言间收敛到语义对齐的抽象层面,表明存在超越表层形式的共同理解。结果表明,LLMs不仅模仿语言表面形式,还内化了由语言塑造的推理偏见。这一现象首次通过模型内部结构分析,从认知语言学理论角度得到实证验证。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Language is not only a tool for communication but also a medium for human cognition and reasoning. If, as linguistic relativity suggests, the structure of language shapes cognitive patterns, then large language models (LLMs) trained on human language may also internalize the habitual logical structures embedded in different languages. To examine this hypothesis, we introduce BICAUSE, a structured bilingual dataset for causal reasoning, which includes semantically aligned Chinese and English samples in both forward and reversed causal forms. Our study reveals three key findings: (1) LLMs exhibit typologically aligned attention patterns, focusing more on causes and sentence-initial connectives in Chinese, while showing a more balanced distribution in English. (2) Models internalize language-specific preferences for causal word order and often rigidly apply them to atypical inputs, leading to degraded performance, especially in Chinese. (3) When causal reasoning succeeds, model representations converge toward semantically aligned abstractions across languages, indicating a shared understanding beyond surface form. Overall, these results suggest that LLMs not only mimic surface linguistic forms but also internalize the reasoning biases shaped by language. Rooted in cognitive linguistic theory, this phenomenon is for the first time empirically verified through structural analysis of model internals.
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