Is it normal to call your relatives askim, sevgilim, balim or omrum? or is this strictly for lovers, girl/boyfriends/spouses?

it´s only for lovers.

really! Someone was calling someone askim and they told me it was their relative. Their cousin. They were calling each other askim. This is why Im confused. It seems strange. But i am not fluent in Turkish.

I´m not sure, but, sevgilim and balım don´t surprise me, I don´t think that is unusual.

Aşkım between familiy members sounds unusual.

denizli

Thanks denizli. I found it odd too. I also read the following which is confusing me also.

I actually read this from a book regarding Turkish grammer : QUOTED FROM THE BOOK : Şeker ´sweetie´. Sevgilim (lit. my love) and askim ´my love´, terms which used to be reserved for lovers, are nowadays sometimes used for addressing friends as well. As in all languages, the usage of these terms of endearment depends also on personal choice and taste.

This book is recent (2011). So this adds to my confusion and conclusion. It seems that you can call a friend (i would assume a family member too) Askim. But yes i agree it sounds a bit odd. I´m trying to draw a conclusion as i see people using these terms which they acclaim are for their family members. Since i am a Canadian, I was curious what others knew about these words in Turkish as i am trying to learn the proper usage. For example-In Canada I can call my lover honey, but i can also say this to my friend or cousin etc. Same word, different meaning.