The language of love. Meeting with linguist Julie Neveux

In honor of Valentine's Day, linguist Julie Neveux deciphers and analyzes the language of love from the famous "love at first sight" to the decisive injunction "we have to talk". In 2022, you published Le Langage de l'amour ( The Language of Love ). Why did you choose to write about a subject as universal and elusive as love? Julie Neveux : Emotions and their expression have always been of great interest to me, and expressivity, that is, the way in which language manifests these emotions, naturally became my object of work. Love, which is made up of so many emotions (tenderness, fear, nostalgia, etc.) is therefore the best subject! But it is over the long term that this emotional palette is shows its variations, when our love stories are inscribed in the duration. I like to think about the language that is really spoken by everyone, in real life, how we address the person we love at the beginning of love, and at the end, when it is no longer the same. I like to practice everyday linguistics. How did you work to write this book? - J. N.