I am German and my girlfriend is an native speaker of English from Malaysia.
I saw that she referred to a very good friend of hers as "My love" in a text chat. I am confused by this statement because if I try to translate it back it would be ever only used for someone you have serious romantic attachment towards.
So is "my love" used for someone close in a platonic sense as well, does it sometimes depend on personal preference, or is my assessment correct?
After he wished her a good birthday, she replied to him something along the lines of
"my love, I wish you were here"
Im not looking for comments on the relationship, just seriously interested in the linguistic background and usage of the term.
Best Answer
It is almost certainly a fairly ordinary West Country term of endearment in the UK, although I cannot give a definitive citation. See:
Wikipedia: Talk:West Country English
There are variations on this all over the country. In the East Midlands (where I was raised), it was quite common for adults who had never been introduced to casually call each other "Me duck". This practise still continues among people of a certain age, but it is slowly dying out.
Wikipedia: East Midlands English