The locution I love you as a cultural script

Expressing emotions verbally in public or in private is related to sociocultural values of different societies. Some cultures are more reticent to express emotions verbally than others. This qualitative study compares the declaration of love and particularly the use of the locution I love you in the American and Iranian contexts. The data were collected through a focus discussion group and some interviews. 31 Iranian and American college graduate students from Texas A&M University participated in the study with 18 attending the focus discussion group and 13 participating in the interviews. They discussed their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes on how, how often, to whom, when, where and with what meaning they use the locution I love you. The findings suggest cross-cultural differences between the Iranians and Americans’ expressions of love and indicate the influence of collectivist cultural values on Iranians and individualistic cultural values on Americans’ communication of love. In spite of the fact that the Americans as individualistic people emphasize on romantic love, they use this expression in various relationships, modes, and occasions frequently. On the other hand, the Iranians as collectivist people emphasize on bonds. However, they tend to express their love more practically than verbally. The findings of this study have implications for crosscultural communication and understanding

کلیدواژه ها:

I love you ، locution ، pragmatics ، collectivist culture ، individualistic culture