RELATIONSHIPS
What Is Your Love Dialect?
By Larry J. Koenig, Ph.D.
CBN.com – Dr. Gary Chapman, in his marriage program and book The
Five Love Languages, points out that each person in a marriage
has a favorite way of giving and receiving love. I agree. In
fact, there are five distinct behaviors people engage in to communicate
their love: actions, attentive togetherness, physical
expressions, positive strokes, and gift-giving.
The idea of “love dialects” is based on several premises:
1. People give love the way they like to receive love.
2. Partners rarely have the same predominant way of
giving and receiving love.
3. When our partner expresses love the way we like—
our “love dialect”—we feel loved.
4. When our partner expresses love to us in a different “love dialect,” the effort often goes unnoticed.
Simply put, if you don’t express your love in a form your
spouse understands, he or she will likely fail to interpret the
expression as love.
Knowing your own love dialect will make it easier to communicate
the types of actions that make you feel loved, and
getting to know your spouse’s dialect will help you plan the
kinds of things that will make him or her feel loved. Following
is a test you can take to determine your own love dialect. This
can serve two purposes: First, it will tell you the ways you prefer
to give and receive love; and second, it will give your spouse
concrete ideas for making you feel loved.
Instructions:
Rate each of the following statements according
to how strongly you feel it represents the way you give and
receive love. Try not to share your answers until both of you
have finished. Use the following scale:
“1” if the statement is rarely true about the way you give and
receive love
“2” if the statement is sometimes true about you
“3” if the statement is often true about you
“4” if the statement is an excellent representation of how
you give and receive love
____ 1. I feel loved when you do something I ask.
____ 2. I feel loved when you maintain eye contact with me
while I am talking.
____ 3. I love it when you ask me for a hug.
____ 4. When you compliment me I feel especially loved.
____ 5. I love it when you bring me gifts.
____ 6. When you jump in to help me do things, I really
appreciate it.
____ 7. I need to spend some time really talking with you
every day.
____ 8. I wish you would kiss me more often.
____ 9. I think about your compliments long after you give
them.
____ 10. When you surprise me with little gifts, I sense how
much you care.
____ 11. I often comment to other people about how much
you help me get things done.
____ 12. It doesn't really matter what we’re doing; I just enjoy
being with you.
____ 13. I could enter “the longest kissing contest” with you
and enjoy every minute.
____ 14. When you say nice things about me, it’s music to my
ears.
____ 15. What I look forward to more than anything is giving
and receiving gifts.
____ 16. When I want to express my love, I first think of what
I might do special for you.
____ 17. I think the best way to spell love is T-I-M-E.
____ 18. I wish we would hug and cuddle more often.
____ 19. More than anything, I think it's important to say “I
love you” at least once a day.
____ 20. I spend a lot of time picking out gifts. After all, the
perfect gift is a great way to say “I love you.”
____ 21. The more things you do for me, the more I feel loved.
____ 22. More than anything, I look forward to the time we
spend together.
____ 23. To tell you the truth, the way to my heart is through
physical expressions of love.
____ 24. I absolutely love writing and receiving love notes.
____ 25. If I were rich, I would buy you a gift every day.
____ 26. I constantly look for ways to do things for you.
That’s how I express my love best.
____ 27. You can tell how much I love you just by how much
time I spend doing things with you.
____ 28. If you want to show me how much you love me,
then you will be wonderfully affectionate.
____ 29. You can count on me to give you lots of appreciation
and praise.
____ 30. Whenever I’m feeling especially loving, I start looking
for a gift to give you.
Love Dialect Scoring Sheet:
Now go back and add 3 to the statements you feel most accurately
describe the way you give and receive love. Then transfer
your answers to the corresponding blanks on the following
page. You will find this an easy task if you go across the rows of
blanks instead of down. Be sure to add in the points for the
statements you felt most strongly represent the way you give
and receive love.
After you transfer your answers, add the columns up and
record the total at the bottom. The highest score will represent
the way in which you best like to give and receive love.
Actions
1.
6.
11.
16.
21.
26.
|
Attentive
Togetherness
2.
7.
12.
17.
22.
27.
|
Physical
Expressions
3.
8.
13.
18.
23.
28.
|
Positive Strokes
4.
9.
14.
19.
24.
29.
|
Gift Giving
5.
10.
15.
20.
25.
30.
|
Totals:
Speak Your Spouse's Dialect
Surprise your spouse at least once a week for the
next month with some expression of love that fits
his or her love dialect. Make it something as special
as possible. Also, remember to express
appreciation when your spouse expresses love to
you in your love dialect.
Excerpted from Happily Married for Life by Larry J. Koenig, Copyright 2006. Published by Life Journey. Used with permission.
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|