I think I speak English fairly well (enough to try and write fiction, marvel at my hubris) but I tend to run into problems when it comes to descriptions of buildings. I don't mean niche architectural terms, those I'm okay with, I mean that my vocabulary for actual architectural features is proving to be pretty limited. I noticed this when I was required to describe the interior of a cathedral and words literally failed me. So I googled some pictures of buildings in my native language and checked if I had the vocabulary to describe them in English. And I sort of managed, but only in a very technical and basic sense. It's a pretty debilitating blind spot to discovered this many years into my ESL slog. Does anyone know of any basic vocab guides for this specific thing? Any fiction writers who do elaborate descriptions of architecture? Examples? Quotes? Like, I don't need to be told what a Bauhaus is or what makes a pillar Corinthian, but apparently I need to be told the proper term for "railing". Well, not that one, clearly, but ARGH. Help.
http://www.englishwithjo.com/english-conversation-buildings-architecture/ https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/reading-house http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/words-that-describe-buildings-or-rooms-and-parts-of-buildings
