HOME SWEET HOME家是甜蜜的。 In the sense of a building for people to live in, HOME and HOUSE are freely interchanged。美國總統Benjamin Franklin富蘭克林說過： "A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body"，可見Home家，House屋，對一些人是有分別的：Home often means more than simply an occupied house or other dwelling. Home refers to a place where one lives on a more or less permanent basis and with which one has strong personal ties of affection and loyalty。Home is a more elegant word。最簡單現實的分野：You can buy a house and make a home there。一個家要有人情味，比房子需要多點時間建立：You build a home with love and time, and build a house with a hammer and saw。詩意一點的說法，家有愛，有夢想："A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams " ( Ian Robinson ) 。雖然北美洲的房屋經紀，經常以home代替house：Real estate agents like to use "home" meaning "house" on advertising。
HOME的形容詞HOMELY，在北美洲和英國的含義，也稍有不同 ：HOMELY in British English is complimentary, meaning 'like home', 'simple and good ', or 'unpretentious'; in American English it has the derogatory sense of 'ugly' or 'unattractive' e.g. a homely room, a homely child 。褒義的英語homely 有令人感到舒適的，好像在家那樣的感覺，例如homely cooking家常味道的烹調；homely woman心地善良、待人親切的女人。貶義的美語homely有不好看的、不漂亮的意思，例如a homely room乏善可陳的房間; a homely child 相貌平凡普通的孩子。
另一個相關的形容詞HOMEY或HOMY，同樣有由home引伸出來的涵義，pleasant and comfortable like home。我們可以說the house is homey but elegant；life on the mountain was simple and homey。HOMELIKE 的意思，等同舒適溫暖 warm and cozy：the restaurant has a homely atmosphere 飯店氣氛令人賓至如歸。
幾句經常和HOME 聯想在一起的習用語：
1. make yourself at home 請坐下，別拘束，希望你感到輕鬆、舒服、愉快。
2. bring something home to someone表示令某人充分明白問題或情況的重要性或嚴重程度。
3. hit home或strike home表示某人所說的話擊中要害，雖然其真實性可能有時會令我們感到痛苦難受。
FAMILY 則指一家的成員，這個詞與house住處無關。家庭是由婚姻、血緣或收養關係所組成的社會組織的基本單位。星雲大師《佛光菜根譚》這樣歌頌一個幸福街的家庭：
公婆的微笑，是子孫的太陽；兒女的聲音，是父母的音樂；妻子的愛語，是丈夫的和風；丈夫的臂膀，是全家的依靠。
FAMILY和HOUSEHOLD兩個家庭的近義詞，用法有時容易混淆。HOUSEHOLD refers to a domestic establishment, that is, to the persons dwelling together under one roof as a social unit。 Members of a FAMILY are related to each other, 家庭的成員互有聯繫，but a member of a HOUSEHOLD同住一所房子的成員可以包括外人 could be somebody who rents a room in the house, or somebody who lives with the family and works for them。家庭強調個人和狀況：FAMILY emphasizes the individuals involved and is used to talk about who they are, what activities they like, how good the relationship is, etc。HOLDHOLD多用於新聞報導和商業文字，側重家庭單位的實況和資料， it is often used in news reports and business writing, emphasizing the group as a unit, especially when referring to their position in society, the money they spend or earn, etc。例如 a householder是戶主；a household word是家喻戶曉的名字或品牌。
以下是幾句衍生自FAMILY或相關的習用語：
It runs in the family世代相傳， a common quality in a particular family， 一家人共有的特征。Diabetes tends to run in the family. So, if your mother is diabetic, you might develop it later in life。
Bring up a family/raise a family /start a family撫養孩子，和have children的意思沒有分別。
Bring somebody up打算生孩子，等同 look after a child and teach them how to live。
A chip off the old block相貌或性格酷似父親或母親的人：a child whose character or behaviour is similar to his parents，跟老頭子或老媽子一模一樣。
To be born with a silver spoon in his mouth指出身富裕之家的子弟, they have opportunities or advantages because they are from a rich family。
最後，我想以大文豪托爾斯泰關於家庭的名句作結 ："All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"。（Leo Tolstoy ：Anna Karenina《安娜‧卡列妮娜》）
文：文世昌
電郵 : [email protected]
網址 : english6p.com
