more than：より、以上？

Me:

When someone says "I have more than five wives", do they mean they have at least five wives? Or "six or more wives"?

Chat:

When someone says "I have more than five wives," they mean they have "six or more wives." The phrase "more than five" specifically excludes the number five, indicating a count that is greater than five. So, it does not include five itself but rather refers to any number greater than five.

Me:

How about, "More than 50,000 people attended the social gathering yesterday"? Does this mean the number 50,000 is specifically excluded, and that 50,001 or more people were there?

Chat:

Yes, when someone says "More than 50,000 people attended the social gathering yesterday," it means that the number 50,000 is specifically excluded. This indicates that 50,001 or more people attended the gathering. The phrase "more than 50,000" means the count is greater than 50,000, excluding 50,000 itself.

Me:

"Are you sure? Is it really necessary to interpret the number in a mathematically precise manner? Is the exact number "50,000" so important?"

Chat:

"While the phrase "more than 50,000" can be interpreted in a mathematically precise manner to mean 50,001 or more, in everyday language, people might not always use such precision.

In casual or conversational contexts, "more than 50,000" often implies that the number is somewhat above 50,000, without necessarily emphasizing the exclusion of 50,000 itself. It could be an approximation or a way to convey that the number was in a similar range but exceeded that particular threshold.

In summary, while the precise mathematical interpretation of "more than 50,000" does mean 50,001 or more, in everyday language, it can be a more flexible expression meant to indicate that the number was roughly above 50,000. The exact exclusion of 50,000 might not be as crucial in casual contexts."

Me:

When someone has so many wives and cannot recall exactly how many but knows the number is at least 6, why do they say they have "more than 5" wives? Why bring up the number "5" when the important number is obviously 6? What is going on in the mind of a native speaker of English in this conext? Is it that when they tried to formulate a sentence, the number "6" came up in their mind but they already formulated and uttered the words "More than" in an attempt to emphasize that the number is large, so they had to do a little mental math and use the number "5" after the phrase "more than" to produce an accurate statement?

Chat:

When someone says "I have more than five wives" to mean they have at least six, it may reflect a few different considerations that native speakers make in such contexts:

1. Ease of Expression: "More than five" can be easier and quicker to say than "at least six." It’s a way to convey a large number without committing to an exact figure.

2. Emphasis on Quantity: The phrase "more than five" emphasizes the large number of wives by indicating that the number exceeds a typical expectation. In many contexts, having more than five of something (especially something significant like spouses) already conveys an idea of excess or abundance.

3. Psychological Distance: By saying "more than five," the speaker may be creating a psychological distance from the exact count, possibly because they are unsure or because the exact number might be fluctuating.

4. Generalization: People often use rounded or approximate numbers to communicate general ideas rather than precise counts. Saying "more than five" might be a way to generalize without needing to provide an exact figure.

5. Conversational Flow: In spontaneous speech, people often formulate sentences dynamically. If the thought process involves starting with the phrase "more than" to emphasize the largeness, the next number might naturally come out as something just under the known quantity (in this case, six) because it maintains the conversational flow and still accurately conveys that the number is large.

In this scenario, "more than five" quickly and effectively communicates that the person has a significant number of wives without getting bogged down by the need to specify the exact number immediately. The choice reflects a balance between accuracy, emphasis, and conversational efficiency.

 

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