Emotion expression and the locution "I love you" - A cross-cultural study

Oct 22, 2026

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This exploratory study advances understanding of emotion expression across cultures by focusing on declarations of love and examining how the locution “I love you” is used in different cultural contexts. Findings show substantial cross-cultural fluctuation: in some cultures the phrase is used exclusively for romantic declarations, while elsewhere it is much more broadly distributed. Non-native speakers also appear to use the phrase in English more than in their native language.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Literature review

International Journal of Intercultural Relations 30 (2006) 51–75 [www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel](www.elsevier.com/locate/ijintrel) Emotion expression and the locution ‘‘I love you’’: A cross-cultural study Richard Wilkins, Elisabeth Gareis 􀀁 Department of Communication Studies, B8-240, Baruch College/CUNY, 55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10591, USA Received in revised form 11 July 2005; accepted 12 July 2005 Abstract This exploratory study is aimed to advance the understanding of emotion expression across cultures by focusing on the declaration of love and studying its expression across cultures. In particular, the use of the locution ‘‘I love you’’ was investigated. Results indicate that the use of the locution ‘‘I love you’’ ﬂuctuates greatly across cultures: It is used exclusively for romantic declarations of love in some cultures, but has a much wider distribution in others. Interestingly, nonnative speakers seem to use the locution ‘‘I love you’’ more in English than their native language. Differences are also noticeable within cultures, particularly across genders and age groups. Thus, females tend to use the expression more often than males. In addition, there seems to be more widespread use of the locution now than just a few decades ago. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Emotion expression; Love; Intercultural communication 1. Introduction This research treats emotions as cultural artifacts whose meanings are symbolically constructed, historically transmitted, and expressed by individuals in 􀀁 Tel.: +1 646 312 3731; fax: +1 914 524 7559 . E-mail addresses: [richard.wilkins@baruch.cuny.edu](richard.wilkins@baruch.cuny.edu) (R. Wilkins), [egareis@baruch.cuny.edu](egareis@baruch.cuny.edu)[ ](egareis@baruch.cuny.edu)(E. Gareis) . 0147-1767/$ -see front matter r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.003 52 R. Wilkins, E. Gareis / International Journal of Intercultural Relations 30 (2006) 51–75 instances of situated communication (Carbaugh, 1996; Fitch, 1998; Philipsen, 1992) . A study of emotion expression is also a study of the moral, cultural, and political life of a people and can yield anthropological knowledge about the social structure and cultural values that are reproduced and negotiated in the communication of emotions (Lutz, 1988) . Consider the following segment drawn from a televised episode of the American program 60 Minutes titled ‘‘Tango Finlandia’’ (Tifﬁn, 1993) . Aired in February 1993, Morley Safer, the lead narrator and journalist, introduces his audience to Finland and Finns who‘‘in their natural state,’’ are‘‘brooding’’ and ‘‘private, grimly in touch with no one but themselves, the shyest people on earth, depressed and proud of it.’’ In this one segment of the program thelocution‘‘I love you’’ and its expression in Finnish culture is discussed by Ms. Schultz (a female American journalist living in Finland), Jan Knutas (a Finnish male literary critic), and Arja Koriseva (a celebrated Finnish female tango singer): SAFER: Do people tell each other that they love each other? SCHULTZ: No, oh my God, no, no. Not yeven lovers. KNUTAS: Well, I’d say you could say it once in a lifetime. y Say, you have been married for 20 years; perhaps your spouse is on her death-bed, you could comfort her with saying ‘‘I love you,’’y SAFER: (laughs) KNUTAS: It’s not funny. KORISEVA: It’s easier to me to say, like, to my boyfriend that ‘‘I love you’’[in English] . yWe have heard it on TV, in movies; it’s easier to me to say ‘‘I love you’’ than ‘‘mina rakastan sinua,’’ it doesn’t [sound] very nice if I say ‘‘I love you’’in Finnish. SAFER: You look slightly embarrassed when you say it in Finnish. KORISEVA: Yeah—we don’t use ‘‘I love you’’ so much as you do. You love almost everybody (laughs) . When a Finnish guy or man says ‘‘I love you,’’ he really means it. The above segments of the 60 Minutes documentary program are

FAQs

What does the study focus on when examining emotion expression across cultures?

It focuses on declarations of love, specifically investigating how the locution “I love you” is expressed across cultures.

How does the use of “I love you” differ across cultures?

It fluctuates greatly: in some cultures it is used exclusively for romantic love declarations, while in others it appears in a much wider range of contexts.

What differences does the study report regarding speakers and social factors?

Non-native speakers seem to use “I love you” in English more than in their native language, and within cultures differences are noticeable across genders and age groups, with females using the expression more often than males.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Rizky