Costa Rican Spanish: Speak like a Native!

By Lee Jamison

Don't settle for generic Spanish! Put away the stale phrasebooks and learn to speak just like the natives! Join us as we explore the most common expressions in Costa Rica. Does a CHORICERO sell sausage? If someone says to you ¡QUÉ CAMOTE!, is he vegan? Discover the real meaning behind the words. Make friends and save money at the market. Start learning Spanish…one country at a time. The Insider Spanish series of books have sold thousands of copies the world over. Our guidebooks are not meant to teach you basic Spanish, but rather to tailor your Spanish to the spoken idiosyncrasies of each Spanish-speaking country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lee Jamison
• Release date: Nov 4, 2018
• ISBN: 9798223517030

Book preview

Insider Spanish epub heading

Costa Rican

Spanish

Speak like a Native!

LEE JAMISON

Copyright © 2018 Lee Jamison

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

 Print ISBN:  0-578-41419-5

Print ISBN-13: 978-0-578-41419-5

Visit us at www.insiderspanish.com

First Digital Edition: 2018. The editorial arrangement, analysis, and professional commentary are subject to this copyright notice. No portion of this book may be copied, retransmitted, reposted, duplicated, or otherwise used without the express written approval of the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review. 

United States laws and regulations are public domain and not subject to copyright. Any unauthorized copying, reproduction, translation, or distribution of any part of this material without permission by the author is prohibited and against the law. 

Disclaimer and Terms of Use: No information contained in this book should be considered as financial, tax, or legal advice. Your reliance upon information and content obtained by you at or through this publication is solely at your own risk. The author assumes no liability or responsibility for damage or injury to you, other persons, or property arising from any use of any product, information, idea, or instruction contained in the content or services provided to you through this book. Reliance upon information contained in this material is solely at the reader’s own risk.

To the Jaén family,

for your love and friendship

and for having shared with us

all the delights of Costa Rican Spanish.

Insider Spanish epub heading

Costa Rican Spanish

tochumming

Table of Contents

Introduction

A Conversation Piece

All in the Family

A Hard Day’s Work

Food for Thought

The Bright Side

The Dark Side

THE GOLDEN FERIA

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Index

Photo Credits

Insider Spanish epub heading

Costa Rican Spanish

Introduction

TWO MEXICAN women were visiting Costa Rica for the first time. Referring to her daughters, the hostess at a family meal casually told them: No hagan caso de las güilas. That answer—a vulgarity back in Mexico—made their ears stand on end. What they heard was: "Don’t pay any attention to the prostitutes." But the real message was: Don’t mind my girls. Güila is a generic term for a child, either a boy or a girl.

  In another conversation hospitable locals told the Mexicans: ¡Qué pecado! Vienen de muy lejos.  This literally means: What a sin! You have come from so far. But for Costa Ricans, there is no sin in pecado. Here it means: What a shame! or What a pity!

   The real shame is not realizing in the global community just knowing Spanish is not enough. Learning the country-specific peculiarities of the language is the only way to avoid costly misunderstandings. The goal of the Insider Spanish series of books is to help you to do just that. Imitating regional speech dignifies the locals. And even though to them you are the foreigner, some may well come to regard you as one of the family. Your efforts will definitely be rewarded—many times over! 

Are you thinking of visiting Costa Rica or are you living there now? Do you have family there or from there? Or are you just a language buff? Whatever the case, we urge you: Join the linguistic party! Instead of stubbornly clinging to phrase book Spanish, have an open mind! Embrace those new, but yet unfamiliar words and phrases! The more local words, phrases, and sayings you begin to use in your daily vocabulary, the more you will fit in. 

One size does not fit all

The avalanche of books on Spanish has left us knee- deep in a language that no one actually speaks. Real Hispanics don’t read out of phrase books. To them they are stale bread. Everyday speech is full of color that is country-specific. Consider: 

The generic word for white is blanco. But when describing a light-skinned person, Mexicans will instinctively use the term güero. In El Salvador, Nicaragua and