Research on the Semantic and Pragmatic Reasoning of Chinese Hyperbolic Numerical Idioms Based on the Bayesian Model
Tianqi Xu, Jiang Yong · Corpus-based Studies across Humanities · 2025
Abstract Hyperbolic numerical idioms in modern Chinese are a phenomenon of hyperbolic rhetoric, where numeral words indicate extremely large or small quantities. This study uses Bayesian models to examine the semantic reasoning and pragmatic reasoning processes of hyperbolic numerical idioms. In terms of semantic reasoning, a conditional probability formula is used to demonstrate that hyperbolic quantities can infer any other quantity, leading to the conclusion that the idiomatic events with any quantity are generally valid; in terms of pragmatic reasoning, Bayes’ theorem is employed to show that hyperbolic numerical idioms significantly influence the listener’s numerical cognition, leading to a tendency for the listener’s estimation of the quantity related to the idioms to shift towards hyperbolic quantities. Finally, this study explores the applicable contexts for hyperbolic numerical idioms and analyzes the Bayesian mechanisms behind illegal hyperbolic expressions, pointing out that hyperbolic expressions must carry implications of impossibility and counterfactuality; if the hyperbolic expression conveys a commonplace event, it results in communication failure.