Do You Speak Love?
Did you ever feel that expressing love sometimes was “lost in translation”? Whether it is with your romantic partner, parents, siblings or friends, people have different ways of displaying their love. So, do you speak your partner’s love language?
Maybe in school you had a crush on a classmate and you were secretly hoping that by doing small things or gestures for her, she’d understand you liked her.
Or your current significant other will never say “I love you” but is always looking for ways to make your life easier. Yes, we have an explanation for that.
Love language is a concept coined by the marriage councelor, Gary Chapman. This concept is not particularly new, but still holds its truth well since 1992. Gary first introduced this concept in one of the most bestselling books of the 90’s, “The Five Love Languages”.
According to Gary, there are five main ways people show their affection — and prefer to receive it. So, in short, the love languages are about discovering what makes your partner tick to ensure a better communication.
If you and your partner don’t speak the same love language, it can lead to friction and all sort of communication problems. For instance, sometimes my partner will wash the dishes for us on days when I’m busy and will cook to show her love. She’s not very verbally expressive of her love for me but my love language is words of affirmation. So, she may be thinking she’s displaying her love while I feel that because she’s not expressing it with words of affirmation, or in other words, in my love language, I feel neglected.
Here are those 5 love languages…
- Words of affirmation: Expressing affection through spoken affection, praise or appreciation.
- Acts of service: Actions, rather than words, are used to show and receive love.
- Receiving gifts: Gifting is symbolic of love and affection.
- Quality time: Expressing affection with undivided, undistracted attention.
- Physical touch: It can range from having sex to holding hands. With this love language, the speaker feels affection through physical touch.
