Guide to Costa Rican Spanish

Being a former Spanish teacher at all levels with two graduate degrees in the subject, I am always looking for good programs for learning the language. About two months ago I took a group of potential retirees to Conversa’s campus in Río Oro de Santa Ana for lunch and to view a demonstration of their teaching methods. During the demonstration both my clients and I were truly impressed by the school’s level of instruction, professionalism and innovative methods.

Conversa also offers live one-on-one Spanish courses online using video teleconferencing software. If you can’t come to Costa Rica to study or feel uncomfortable in group situations, this makes it possible to learn Spanish from the comfort of your home or office. This approach to teaching Spanish integrates live instruction with a valuable Spanish Resource Portal called “ConversaConmigo.” All you need is a high-speed internet connection and a headset.

By the way, the school was founded in 1975 by David Kauffman who is the former coordinator for a Peace Corp Center and also has a graduate degree in Spanish Linguistics. Most of the Spanish schools and teachers in Costa Rica do not have this background, experience or qualifications.

Check it out.

A telenovela or novela is a Spanish language soap opera. Telenovelas seem to be the opiate of the masses in Latin America. The first telenovelas were produced in Brazil, Cuba and Mexico in the 1950s. The most popular ones last about an hour and appear Monday through Friday evenings (7 to 10 PM) on most Spanish TV networks. In Spanish-speaking-countries major television stations show at least four to six of novelas per day. One series will typically run for seven to fourteen months.

Spanish soap operas are even becoming popular in other countries where they are dubbed into different languages. The first global telenovela was Los Ricos También Lloran (“The Rich Cry Too”, Mexico, 1979), which was exported to Russia, China, the United States and other countries.

The final show (desenlace) of a novela typically features a wedding between the two leads, some horrible death or fate for the villain and redemption for the bad guys who were less evil than the villain. The good people are always rewarded in novelas.

Telenovelas have a sociological component because they reflect many real life situations and issues in Latin America. Narconovelas are a new phenomenon that have come from Colombia. Recent productions like El Capo, Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso and El Cartel de los Sapos are social commentaries about real life problems that presently plague Colombia. Some have criticized the wave of Colombian soap operas for glamorizing the life of drug lords and for selling the drug culture as a risk-free entree into the high life.

The Novela is also a valuable learning tool. In the April 10, 2010 edition of La Nación there was an article about the benefits of watching soap operas for native Spanish speakers. According to Jorge Ignacio Covarrubias, the secretary of North American Academy of the Spanish Language, telenovelas enrich and spread the Spanish language. They help increase the viewer’s vocabulary, teach new ways of saying things and improve channels of communication.

Novelas also benefit non-native Spanish speakers who learn learn dialog in a real life context and build their vocabulary, especially idiomatic expressions. This method is free, fun, and not boring. On thing is for sure. If you are serious about learning the Spanish language, telenovelas are one of the better vehicles. Once you have a basic Spanish vocabulary you should be able to get the gist of what the characters are talking about in any soap opera. By watching telenovelas you will be exposed to how the language is really spoken and not boring textbook Spanish. Your ear for the language will also improve. The more soap operas you watch the better you will speak Spanish. Novelas are very melodramatic and visual. The facial expressions are more exaggerated than other kinds of programming, giving you visual clues about the content. When the hero physically throws the bad guy out of the house and says, “Lárgate! (Get your butt out of here!),” you know he’s not asking him out for a beer! Dialog is surprisingly easy to understand when accompanied by action.

Telenovelas is one of several Spanish magazines where you can read to keep up on all of the gossip about Spanish soap operas. In case you miss an episode of your favorite novela, there are Internet sites that summarize the daily plots.

Novela-related Vocabulary

Actor -actor
Actor de reparto – member of the supporting cast
Actriz –actress
Argumento or trama – the plot of a movie or soap opera
Culebrón – another name for a soap opera. Culebrones (“long snakes”) got their name because of the convoluted plots.
Desenlace – ending
Episodio – episode
Estelarizando or estelarizada por – starring…
Final feliz – happy ending or denenlace feliz
Final triste – sad ending or desenlace triste
Galán – leading man
Héroe – hero
Hora estelar –prime time
Novela – a Spanish soap opera
Novel por entregas – a serial
Novelero/a – a person who watches a lot of novelas
Personaje – character in a novela
Protagonista – person who has the leading role
Refrito – a remake of a previous novela
Televidentes – those who watch television
Villano/a or malo/a de la telenovela – bad guy or bad gal.

Special to A.M. Costa Rica

With the World Cup just 18 days away the interest in soccer here is really heating up. The Cup is contested every four years and is the Super Bowl of soccer. This year’s edition of the cup will be held in South Africa. Retirees in Costa Rica are bound to become interested in soccer or fútbol as it is called in the Spanish-speaking world. The game is almost a religion.

Whenever there is a major soccer game, everything comes to a stop and the party begins. Children of all ages can be seen playing soccer on the weekends. Adults even play informal games during their lunch breaks called mejengas.

Recently I watched a clasicazo (classic) soccer game with my son. It was between perennial powers Real Madrid and Barcelona. The latter won 2-0, marking the second time the team has defeated Real Madrid at home. Barcelona is led by the superhuman Lio Messi, who is considered the best player in the world, and Real Madrid is led by Cristiano Ronaldo, the “Pretty Boy” of world soccer. In Costa Rica we have a clasicazo which refers to games played between arch rivals Alajuela, known as La Liga, and Saprissa, known as El Monstruo.

Basically, here is how soccer is played:

Using a round ball, a soccer match is played by two teams wearing different colored shirts. Each team consists of not more than 11 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. An official match may not start if either team consists of fewer than seven players.

Up to a maximum of three substitutes may be used in any match played in an official competition organized under the auspices of the world governing body, the Federation Internationale de Football Assocation.

In other competition, the rules must state how many substitutes may be nominated, from three up to a maximum of seven. The duration of an official match is 90 minutes played in two halves — each half lasting 45 minutes.

The aim of the game is for one team to score more goals than the opposing team. The winning team is the team that has scored the most goals at the end of the game. Players score a goal when they succeed in moving the whole ball over the opposing team’s goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar. Players may use any part of their body except their arms and hands (unless they are tending goal).

The ball is out of play when it has wholly crossed the goal line, or touch line — whether on the ground or in the air, and when play has been stopped by the referee.

The game is controlled by one referee on the playing field and two assistant referees placed on opposite sidelines. The field (or pitch) of play must be rectangular. The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.

Length: minimum 90 meters (98.4 yards), maximum 120 meters (131.2 yards). Width: minimum 45 meters (49.2 yards), maximum 90 meters (98.4 yards).

International matches: Length: minimum 100 meters (109.4 yards) maximum 110 meters (120.3 yards) Width: minimum 64 meters (70 yards) maximum 75 meters (82 yards).

The field of play is marked with lines. These lines belong to the areas of which they are boundaries. The two longer boundary lines are called touch-lines. The two shorter lines are called goal lines. The field of play is divided into two halves by a halfway line. The center mark is indicated at the midpoint of the halfway line. A circle with a radius of 9.15 meters (10 yards) is marked around it.

A goal area is defined at each end of the field. A penalty area is defined at each end of the field. Goals must be placed on the center of each goal line.

Soccer vocabulary:

árbitro — referee

banda — sideline

cabezazo — header

cancha — field

defensa - The defense taken as a whole is la defensa. The back four is also termed la zaga

*Courtesy of Inside Costa Rica

The Arizona immigration law controversy is spilling into others states, like Alabama where gubernatorial candidate Tim James, in an attempt to boost his ratings in the polls, by coming out with a television ad “we speak English in Alabama”, promising that driver’s license testing in that state will be only in English is he elected governor.

This recent act of xenophobia brings out the question how does a small country like Costa Rica with the many languages spoken here.

Of course, any American visiting Costa Rica knows well that Spanish is the official language in the tiny Central American nation.

Canadians are the exception, for though there are two official languages in Canada – French and English – a barrage of other languages, though not official, are spoken. Just turn on a television set in Toronto.

In Costa Rica, there is no “official” second language, though English is common, especially in areas like Escazú. So is Chinese. Italian and French can be easily overheard at a local restaurant or coffee shop. And there is the variation in Spanish, from the language spoken in the old country (Spain), to Nicaraguan, to Colombian to Cuban, etc.

In reference to Alabama’s James, drivers license tests in Costa Rica – both written and driven – are in Spanish. The forms are in Spanish, the people behind the counter processing the license speak only Spanish. And so do the driving testers.

Notwithstanding, there are thousands of Americans and other non Spanish speaking drivers in Costa Rica, with a valid drivers license. Yes, if they have a drivers license from their home country, the process is abbreviated. Nonetheless, the abbreviated process is all in Spanish.

And although many foreigners, mainly Americans, refuse of find learning a new language difficult, you need to learn Spanish in Costa Rica to enjoy “pura vida”.

Speaking the language is important for the “official” part of living in Costa Rica, like getting a drivers license or a residency or any interaction with a government institution or agency.

The business and commercial part is different, here foreigners can choose the language of choice. Merchants, service providers, hotels, restaurants, etc by an large have included English in their daily transactions. Some specialty business cater to specific language groups.

This is all part of being pragmatic.

In Costa Rica, you don’t hear politicians, like in the recent presidential elections or up coming municipal elections at the end of the year, spouting that everyone should speak Spanish and that all services are in Spanish.

Lets be realistic, today’s world is different than that of the past. Foreign travel is part of modern life and not everyone is required to speak English to travel.

The Costa Rican tourism board, although officially speaks Spanish, it does provide a number of services and guides in English. The practical approach of the tourism board if to offer a place where tourists, be it English, Chinese or Italian speaking, can obtain the basic information to get gas, food, lodging and medical attention.

We are not advocating that Alabama adopt a language other than English as the official language. It should be up to foreigners to learn English, like Alabamans coming to Costa Rica learn Spanish.

This xenophobic approach by states and countries goes against a “unified” world, where people, races and cutlures come together.

Speaking a common language is important in bringing these groups together. So, in Costa Rica, we speak Spanish. But we don’t need politicians to tell us or reassure us of that.

Feet are used in many Spanish expressions.

There are many uses of the words feet and foot in idiomatic expressions. The word for foot in Spanish is el pie, pronounced (pee-ay). The word pata is generally used to refer to the leg on a piece of furniture or an animal’s foot.

However, in jest pata is sometimes used to refer to a human’s feet. For example: Estar con un pie en la tumba means to have one’s foot in the grave. Often expats will hear Estar con una pata en la tumba, which means the same thing. They may also hear, Voy a pie (I’m going on foot). But some people say jokingly, Voy a pata. Pata can be used to get a laugh out of people (sacarles una cacajada).

Hear are some expressions using pie and pata:

A pie firme – steadily (progress).
Al pie de la letra – to the letter, exactly.
Al pie del cañon – to be working. Morir al pie del cañon means to die with your boots on.
Balompié – soccer.
Buscar tres pies al gato – to look for trouble (to look for three feet on a cat).
Cienpies – centipede.
Comenzar con el pie derecho – to start off on the right foot. Comenzar con la pata derecha.
Con pies de plomo – Carefully (with lead feet).
De pies a cabeza – from toe to head. Lo revisé de pies a cabeza. I examined it from head to toe.
En pie – standing like a house that survived a hurricane.
Estar con una pata en la tumba – to have one foot in the grave.
Estirar la pata – to die or kick the bucket. Patear el balde also means to kick the bucket.
Ir a pie – to go on foot. Vamos a pie. Let’s go on foot.
Meter la pata – to put your foot in your mouth.
Nacer de pie – to be born lucky.
No tener ni pies ni cabeza – not to make heads or tails of it or it makes no sense.
Pata de palo – peg leg.
Patas arriba – upside down or topsy-turvy (a mess).
Patas de gallina – crow’s feet (wrinkles around the eyes).
Patear – to kick.
Patear el culo – to kick someone’s butt (vulgar).
Patituerto/a – pigeon-toed. Also heard are patas de pato and pies encontrados.
Patón – someone with big feet.
Perder el pie – to lose one’s footing.
Pie de atleta – athlete’s foot.
Pies planos – flat feet.
Ponerse de pie – to stand up.
Saber de qué pie cojea – to know one’s weak point. El lado flaco or talón de Aquiles means the same thing.
Se le fueron los pies – to stumble. Literally his feet went out from under him.
Sólo salgo con los pies de frente – You’ll only take me out of here feet first (dead).
Soldado a pie – foot soldier, infantry.

Related Tiquismos (Costa Rican expressions):

A pata pelada – bare feet.
Bailar en una pata – to be happy,
Con toda la pata – when a person feels great.
Echar patas – to disappear or used when an object gets robbed.
Estar con una pata en el estribo – to be about to do something or have one foot out the door.
Llevar entre patas – to possess a woman sexually (vulgar).
Parar las patas – to fall.
Pata caliente – someone who likes to travel or hang out in the street.
Pata de chancho – a crow bar.
Pata de perro –means the same as pata caliente.
Patas vueltas – a good-for-nothing or insignificant person.
Patear con los dos – to be bisexual.
Salir con una pata de banco – used when a single woman gets pregnant.
Tener patas – to have pull or influence.
Volar pata – to walk.
Zafarse las patas – to commit an error or get pregnant as a single woman