British Homes

Una delle mie più grandi passioni sono le case. Non tanto gli edifici in sé e come sono costruiti, quanto gli interni, il modo in cui sono arredati gli spazi. Se non avessi studiato economia e se la mia vita non avesse preso altre strade nel frattempo, magari sarei diventata un’interior designer.  Chissà!

Proprio questa distinzione tra edificio e interni può aiutarci a capire la differenza tra due parole che vengono usate in inglese per dire “casa”: HOUSE e HOME.

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams” scriveva William Arthur Ward. Quindi ‘house’ è la casa intesa come struttura, costruita con muri e travi, mentre ‘home’ è la casa intesa come focolare domestico, fatto di amore e sogni.

E a proposito di case, where do the British live?

Scopriamolo insieme con questo video della Oxford University Press.

Some people live in flats, what the Americans call apartments. Flats are usually in blocks of flats in urban areas.

Burt most British people live in houses. There are different types of houses:

• a bungalow is a house on only one floor
• a cottage is a small house in the country
• a terraced house is a house joined to other houses on both sides
• a semi-detached house  is a house joined to another house on one side
• a detached house is a separate house.

And, of course, houses can be old, new, large, small, etc.

Some people live in more different homes, like castles, mansions, caravans or houseboats.

But what is the typical British house like inside?

It usually has two floors. There is usually a living room or sitting room, a kitchen, and a dining room downstairs, while the bedrooms and the bathroom are upstairs.

The living room is where people relax, watch TV, play games, read. There is usually a fireplace in the living room.

The kitchen is the room where people cook and sometimes have their meals. In a typical kitchen there is a fridge, a cooker, an oven, a microwave, a sink. A very important item in most British kitchens is the electric kettle!

The dining room is where people have meals on special occasions, like Sunday lunches, birthdays and dinner parties.

Teenagers’ bedrooms are usually full of posters.

Most British people like having a bath, so there is usually a bath in the bathroom.

The Robinson’s house also has a study, because Mrs Robinson works from home.

A lot of English people love gardening and the typical English house usually has two gardens, a small garden at the front, the front garden, and a big garden at the back, the back garden!

What is the most famous home in Britain? Buckingham Palace, of course! It is the residence of the Royal Family when they are in town.

Where do you live? Do you live in a house or a flat? Fatemi sapere nella sezione commenti qua sotto! j