fuckiminmy20s and Thai Language

So I definitely have a backlog of at least 3 journal entries that I need to write for this blog, but this one is awesome and quick and easy.


I was reading through the tumblr fuckiminmy20s, which as I understand it got its own article in the NYT. Supercool.

Reading I realized that there are many ideas that I no longer relate to while living here, also it's targeted toward girls. And I'm not sure that I like it. 

Regardless, I got to this entry:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7c10wEfdy1qjm1zlo1_400.jpg

The reason this was interesting to me is that in this way English, a very precise and rigorous language does have a legitimate hole created by culture that has remained unfilled.

Even more interestingly, Thai does not have the same hole. There is puean, meaning friend; there is fan, meaning girlfriend/boyfriend; and there is geek, meaning someone you are messing around with but is less than a fan. Also similar to American culture, geek is often roughly translated to "secret lover." That is someone you are hooking up with but only a few choice people know about it (if anyone at all).

So I decree, from this day forward we in the States all call hookup buddies "geeks"!

Supercool.


Update:

Upon further reading through her blog, I think that the author may be referring more to someone where there is possible mutual interest but nothing has happened yet. This would make the person in question certainly not a boyfriend or girlfriend, but it might also feel weird to simply call them a friend. This may be partially due to the fact that "friend" in young adult language is a relationship that is doomed to be non-sexual.

This point of view would be supported by this post.

Then again, my original understanding would be supported by this video, which she posted on her blog. I think the video is more representative of her commentary on non-friend non-boyfriends in what I've read in her tumblr so far.

I guess I might suggest that two new words for between-friend-and-boyfriend/girlfriend might be needed for young adult culture in the States. *shrug*