摘自:
http://www.cybertranslator.idv.tw/quotables/
qt1.htm#tweenager
http://www.cybertranslator.idv.tw/wordwatch/
wordwatch9.htm
tweenie 這個字不時出現在英國的大眾傳播媒體上，尤其是報紙，不過它並非起源於英國。這個字之突然出現應該始自著名的 BBC 兒童電視節目主持人 Andi Peters 被任命協助經營第 4 頻道的兒童節目。尤其是，他是負責晚間 6 時至 7 時的 tweenie 時段 -- 年齡約 10 至 15 歲者最多人看電視的時段。這個字似乎是傳播界用來指這年齡層的最常見的行銷用語。這年齡層的人不認為他們是兒童，所以不想看兒童節目，但年紀也沒有大到足以觀賞大人節目的程度。這個字是取自 between 的後半部 (而 tweenager 構成的方式仿效自 teenager)。
tweenager，用來指 7 至 11 歲的兒童，尤其是女孩。這個年齡層具有可觀的購買力，他們比過去這年齡層的小孩更世故、重視物質、講究時髦以及瞭解媒體，而且成長比較快速。他們比 tweenie 所定義的族群還要年輕。這個字自 1980 年代以來就已零星地出現，不過最早它是被用來指 10 至 13 歲的年齡層，而「牛津英語辭典」資料庫有一個例句是來自 1952 年 -- 它出現在一本由 A A Macfarlan 所寫的書 (New Games for Tween-agers) 的書名中。但它在最近一、兩年已變得比較常見，只是它仍是行銷專門用語。在英國，人們因為 BBC 電視台的一支紀錄片 "Little Women - A Day in the Life of a Tweenager" 而聲名大噪。該紀錄片強調一種 7 至 11 歲女孩的新現象，亦即她們追求時髦，想盡辦法擁有最新的名牌用品和個人行頭。一項調查指出，這種現象可能侷限於大都會區中父母有錢、從小嬌生慣養的小孩。但無可否認地，現今的小孩注重物質享受、消費支出的年齡比過去任何時候都要來得早。
tweeny 這個字舊有的意思 (但現今已廢棄不用) 是「廚師和女傭的助手；丫環」(between maid; between girl)。下面的兩個引句中，第一句的 tweeny 是它原始的意思，第二句則是比較廣義地指「女傭」(skivvy）
The first person I worked for was Mr MX's mother and she was ninety when I went there and she had a trained nurse ... and a housekeeper and I was the little tweeny thing you know. (英國書籍)
Call a house meeting and say frankly that either all residents are to take their turn with proper housekeeping, or otherwise you see no option but for everybody to club together and hire a cleaner, and emphasise that you are not willing to be the communal tweeny any longer. (英國報紙)
下面為 "tweeny" 或 "tween" 新意思的引句：
The emergence of tweens has already been noted with alarm in the United States, where some commentators have talked about the death of childhood as 10-year-old girls are shopping for cosmetics, miniskirts and designer sunglasses. Kay Hymowitz, author of a book on tweens to be published next year, says: "It's a disturbing trend." (美國報紙)
Although the changes are affecting children of all ages, some of the most marked differences are being seen among those aged 10, 11 and 12, the pre-adolescent age group referred to as `tweens'. They represent a generation of girls and boys who are less concerned with toys and teddy bears than the fashion and style aspirations of older siblings or role models. (英國報紙)
這個字有時被用來指年紀較大的小孩，即 teenagers，13 至 19 歲，甚至 20 出頭的青少年：
Studio chiefs have rediscovered a forgotten resource, young people between the ages of 13 and 21, and they have found them exploitable, both as a cheap raw material and as a valuable market. Whether you call them the Millennium Generation, Tweenies or Generation Y, teenage supplies are being mined by the entertainment industry. (澳洲報紙)
對 BBC 紀錄片的製作人而言，tweenagers 就是 tweenies：
Little Women: a Day in the Life of the Tweenager Documentary about `tweenagers' - a new generation of preteen girls with the style and sensibilities of teenagers and the validation of being a recognised consumer group. The film follows three sets of best friends aged seven to eleven, from diverging backgrounds, through an average tweenager's day (BBC online)
然而，這個字讓人有些混淆，因為有人將 tweenager 認為比 teenager 年紀大；這在英文資料庫中只有一個引句：
Sportswear has come of age because the people who wear it have. And they are the `tweenagers' - 18 to 30-year-olds who are caught between the desire to wear breezy teen weeds forever and their need to take on adult, decision-maker clothes. (英國報紙)
根據這個引句的意思，tweenager 實際上就是 kidult。Kidult 是指希望自己是小孩或少年，因此行為表現像小孩或少年的大人。下句是對 kidult 的解釋：
Mandy is working on a collection of classics for both grownups and children titled Kidults. "Stephen Sondheim once said, 'Every great song is for the kid in the adult,'" Patinkin quoted. "The word 'kidult' was used by [the film critic] Vincent Canby to describe the audience for Diehard years ago." (來自網路)
kidult 還有另一個意思；這是New Oxford Dictionary of English所收錄的意思，但它不是指人，而是指他們所消費的產品：
a television programme, film, video or game intended to appeal to both children and adults. (同時吸引小孩和大人的電視節目、影片、電玩或遊戲)
英文資料庫中的兩個引句似乎都是指第二個意思：
We're seeing the emergency of a `kidult' culture. Adults are increasingly consumers of kids' stuff, while kids are interested in grown-up fashions and objects at a younger and younger age. (美國新聞報導)
The film is likely to capitalise on the success of `kidults' -- films that appeal to adults and children. (英國報紙)
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