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  2. Spanish to English

ama de casa

English translation: in-home caregiver

14:36 Nov 2, 2001
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Spanish term or phrase: ama de casa
I'm clear on what it means, what I'd like to know is whether "homemaker" is an appropriate translation in British English. Native speakers, please.
Jon Zuber (X)
English translation:in-home caregiver
Explanation:
Yes, homemaker appears to be a perfectly good British term. I get 1,230 hits for the UK domain. See:

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=homemaker&num=10&btnG=Goog...

(how to get this result: use the Google Advance search and specify the "domain" (farther down the screen).

However, I don't think that's what you're looking for here. And I suspect that "ama de casa" is less than satisfactory for the Spanish, too. It's just that Spanish doesn't have all the options in place that English has. I think what you're looking for is "in-home caregiver," for which I also get hits for the UK domain. See:
Selected response from:

Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 19:06
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone. I'm giving points to Yolanda for answering my basic yes-or-no question: is "homemaker" o.k. in Br. Eng.? I agree that it may not be the best option generally, but let's remember that the term has to fit neatly into a table.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6housewife
mgonzalez (X)
5 +2housewife
Paloma
4 +2Head of the household
Dito
4 +1housewife
Jordana
5housekeeper
CCW
4 +1stay-at-home mum/dad
dmwray
4 +1lady of the house
Ian McAllister (X)
4 +1(stay-)at-home spouse/parent
tazdog (X)
4 +1head of household
Andrea Bullrich
4Housekeeper
Rick Henry
4in-home caregiver
Yolanda Broad
4the lady of the house
Archipelago (X)
4 -2homemaker = artesano?
Paloma
1 -1house nurse
Paloma


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
housewife


Explanation:
none needed

mgonzalez (X)
PRO pts in pair: 44

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rick Henry
0 min
agree  Karina Fabrizzi: imposible pedir más acertada versión.
1 min
agree  pzulaica
2 mins
  -> Gracias a los tres.
agree  Sheila Hardie
43 mins
  -> Muchas gracias. Parece que al interesado no le convence en absoluto...
neutral  dmwray: Durante estos días tan PC, hay que cuidarse con referencias dirigidas a un sexo u otro, ¡qué pena real!
1 hr
  -> Gracias.
agree  Atacama: I was born in Britain and raised in Australia and 'housewife is the owrd you need.
1 hr
  -> Gracias.
agree  Diana Casoliba Bonache
7593 days
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
housewife


Explanation:
I'm American but I think in British English "housewife" is as or more common than "homemaker".

Jordana
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  mgonzalez (X)
54 mins
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7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
housewife


Explanation:
¿Qué es "homemaker"?
Palo

Paloma
Spain
Local time: 01:06

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  mgonzalez (X): Debe de ser la versión políticamente correcta de 'housewife'.
1 min
  -> de hecho no encuentro homemaker en el diccio ni como acepción de "ama de casa" ni como entrada en la parte En-Sp
agree  athena22
15 mins
  -> thnx,darling
agree  Karina Fabrizzi: no existe tampoco en los mios!
19 mins
  -> ya,bueno,pero man dicho por ahí que es la forma antigua.hay que callarse, amigo
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
homemaker = artesano?


Explanation:
si homemade es hecho en casa, con las manos, normalmente, homemaker será la persona que las hace, supongo
palo

Paloma
Spain
Local time: 01:06

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Rick Henry: Homemaker is an older way to say housewife
9 mins
  -> vale,perdón y gracias
neutral  CCW: I agree with Rick
13 mins
  -> valeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! control!
disagree  athena22: Rick is right.
21 mins
  -> oye,pero que os pasa,ya valeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
neutral  Andrea Bullrich: Here's some info: http://www.newhomemaker.com/phorum/list.php?f=4
39 mins
  -> gracias, paisana
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5 peer agreement (net): -1
house nurse


Explanation:
¿alguien que te cuida en tu propia casa?

Paloma
Spain
Local time: 01:06

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  mgonzalez (X): 'Ama de casa' es 'ama de casa'.El texto está clarísimo (el ama de casa u otros parientes),no hay que darle más vueltas.
2 mins
  -> Jon dic q "housewife" doesn't fit.El concepto de ama de casa en Esp s la señora (ama/dueña de su casa)q s keda n casa
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
housekeeper


Explanation:
housekeeper = a person, esp. a woman, employed to run a household.

I think that this word fits in your context. It means more or less the same as "homemaker" which, according to the dictionary, is U.S. and Canadian.

I have taken it from Collins Eng. Dictionary, which is British


    own experience
    Collins Eng. Dictionary
CCW
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 77

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  mgonzalez (X): Eso sería + bien ama de llaves o similar.No se trata de alguien de fuera:ama de casa...otros parientes.
2 mins
  -> disculpa, pero el dicc. define "houskeeper" como "ama de casa" y "ama de llaves"-- dicc. español
agree  Paloma: óyeme,ya sé que ama de casa es ama de casa akí y en despeñaperros,pero el tío kiere otra cosa,vale?
5 mins
  -> gracias
agree  athena22: Sorry, but in my experience a housekeeper is a fancy word for maid. Homemaker is a housewife.
8 mins
  -> the asker does not want to use "housewife"
disagree  Sheila Hardie: I agree with Athena22, except homemaker could also be a man (although not so common!)
17 mins
  -> the same as above
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Housekeeper


Explanation:
How's that for gender-neutral and politically correct?
:-)

HTH
Rick

Rick Henry
United States
Local time: 18:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 375
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
stay-at-home mum/dad


Explanation:
I have heard this term used for what is mentioned above.

As for 'homemaker', as an Englishman, I would probably not choose to use that, nor expect to hear it too often in this context.

Good luck in your seemingly endless struggle! I hope not to prove too contentious!!

dmwray
PRO pts in pair: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rick Henry: I like this one... decidedly British with the "mum" bit. :-)
8 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
in-home caregiver


Explanation:
Yes, homemaker appears to be a perfectly good British term. I get 1,230 hits for the UK domain. See:

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=homemaker&num=10&btnG=Goog...

(how to get this result: use the Google Advance search and specify the "domain" (farther down the screen).

However, I don't think that's what you're looking for here. And I suspect that "ama de casa" is less than satisfactory for the Spanish, too. It's just that Spanish doesn't have all the options in place that English has. I think what you're looking for is "in-home caregiver," for which I also get hits for the UK domain. See:


    Reference: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22home+caregiver%22+si...
Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 19:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 668
Grading comment
Thanks to everyone. I'm giving points to Yolanda for answering my basic yes-or-no question: is "homemaker" o.k. in Br. Eng.? I agree that it may not be the best option generally, but let's remember that the term has to fit neatly into a table.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  tazdog (X): I like the term, but how would you differentiate between this and the "otros parientes" who may also be in-home?
4 hrs
  -> I think that's a reflection on the limited options in Spanish, not in English. :-)
neutral  Paloma: i agree with chindi
12 hrs
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the lady of the house


Explanation:
"the lady of the house" is a nice way of saying it, but as a native speaker I feel that there is probably no translation equivalent in English. From the context it appears that what is meant is something like the principal woman of the parental generation (? the matriarch ?) in a house, i.e. as opposed to "otros parientes" (other relatives). Nowadays in order to avoid the sexist connotations of "housewife" administrative documents may refer to "the head of the household" which could of course be a male, so this expression would lose some of the sense of the original.

Archipelago (X)
Local time: 08:36
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 14
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
lady of the house


Explanation:
The dictionary says "housewife" but the term "lady of the house" is more respectful because it implies that the lady is in charge of the house.

From the context, you could probably translate it as "mother" because the next category is other relatives, implying that the lady of the house is a relative.


Ian McAllister (X)
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 47

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Paloma
10 hrs
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(stay-)at-home spouse/parent


Explanation:
What a dilemma! I don’t think either homemaker or housewife could be used in English here without sounding odd and not-too-PC. Dmwray’s alternative is good, but doesn’t take into account the possibility of a spousal caregiver with no kids involved, so I propose “(stay-)at-home spouse/parent.” You could use "partner" instead of spouse as that would be broader, but your text appears to refer to a "relative" as the next part says "other relatives."

In some cases, the booming economy has enabled one spouse to be the sole breadwinner, while the other partner takes the time to improve their home-life. With the support and understanding of the working partner, the at-home spouse may spend the day cooking a meal from scratch, running errands, and performing household chores. (http://www.bellaonline.com/relationships/lifestyles/married_...

We adopted a kid, and soon it was clear that one of us was going to have to stay home. Who would be the stay-at-home parent was obvious. I was making more money, so I got to keep my job. (http://www.wnyc.org/new/workandfamily/WorkAndFamily01/S-SexR...

Another option that would eliminate any reference to relationship is "female head of household," but that locks in the gender and does not clearly define that the person's primary role is to care for the house (and family), so I don't think it's a great choice.

Just my thoughts :-)

tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 01:06
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 5410

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrea Bullrich: : )
4 hrs
  -> thanks Andrea :-)
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Head of the household


Explanation:
This term avoids gender and is often used in surveys.

Dito

Dito
Local time: 00:06
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 94

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Andrea Bullrich: see below : )
2 hrs
agree  Nikki Graham
2 hrs
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
head of household


Explanation:
Hi Jon.

Just to back up Dito's answer, here's what I found. The site (http://www.stats.gov.lc/laba25.htm) provides statistical information on Santa Lucia (Caribbean).

LABOUR FORCE BY RELATIONSHIP TO HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD AND SEX

RELATIONSHIP TO Jan - June July - Dec Jan - June July - Dec Jan - June July - Dec Jan - June July - Dec

HEAD Number Of Persons

BOTH SEXES

TOTAL BY SEX
Head
Spouse
Child
Parent
Other Relative
Employee
Non-Relative
Other

MALE
TOTAL BY SEX

Head
Spouse
Child
Parent
Other Relative
Employee
Non-Relative
Other

FEMALE
TOTAL BY SEX

Head
Spouse
Child
Parent
Other Relative
Employee
Non-Relative
Other

I think this is similar to your context, and there are other stats in other pages of the same site in case you want to check.
Hope this helps,
Andrea


    see above
Andrea Bullrich
Local time: 20:06
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 435

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nikki Graham
31 mins
  -> Gracias, Nikki : )))
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