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Love is confusing. Both a noun and a verb, the English word “love” can describe feelings for a significant other, devotion to a friend or affection toward a pet. When Valentine’s Day rolls around, it becomes difficult to escape this mysterious human emotion.
“I think people mistake feelings for love,” said Kimberly Hopper, a freshman speech communication major. “I don’t think love is about feelings — it’s a commitment. If a relationship is built on only feelings of love, then it’s not love at all.” To make matters worse, love is also complicated as a part of speech. When Greek was being translated into English, all the Greek versions of the word became “love” because the English language doesn’t have verbs for words such as friendship. People substitute “love” because it is versatile as both a noun and a verb, said Daryl Schmidt, chairman of the religion department. This multi-tasking word can also describe a wide variety of emotions. “Making love and loving God are two totally different things,” said Brandi Giles, a freshman deaf education major. Love can be used to describe everything from passionate love for another person, to a fondness for food. “It would be nice if there were words that conveyed supreme enjoyment of something — like chicken, or chocolate — that ultimately doesn’t mean (as) much,” said Brett Wilson, a freshman English major. “It would be better to have more specific words.” Other languages have many words to describe what we call love. “It’s strange that the English language has only one translation for the word love whereas Spanish has about 10,” said Candice Ditto, a freshman interior design major. “It can cause some confusion because it’s not the same if you say ‘I love my friends’ or ‘I love my boyfriend’ or ‘I love your shoes.’” In Greek, as in several other languages, there are many translations which allow for different kinds of love.
In ancient Greek, there are traditionally three main translations. Eros, used to describe romantic love, is the root word for erotic. Philia is a brotherly love used for friends and family. Agape is used to describe a deep committed love similar to God’s love, Schmidt said. “People say that Eskimos have many different words for snow, while we just call it snow,” he said. “The Greeks who invented philosophy and critical thinking gave more expression to (love).” There is some debate among scholars however, over whether agape and philia can be considered synonyms. In the Bible, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, using the agape form twice and the Philia form once. Schmidt said some scholars take this to mean that Philia could be the synonym to agape in some contexts. Modern Greeks must agree because they now use mostly the agape form to refer to most kinds of love, Schmidt said. Amanda Patrick, a freshman math and education major, said she is not concerned that there is only one word for love in the English language. “It’s the meaning behind it,” she said. “I think people mistake love for lust.” Some feel we don’t need to make more words for love, the problem is the widespread use of a word few people understand. “People throw the word around and use it so carelessly that it’s almost losing it’s value,” said Chrystal Sargent, a junior education major. “I think love is a choice you make to love someone when they are unlovable,” Sargent said. “People mistake this physical attraction and emotional feeling for love. The honeymoon’s going to be over and when things are tough the physical attraction and emotions aren’t going to hold the relationship together.” Jessica
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