Guide to Costa Rican Spanish
by Christopher Howard
Our Price: $225.46
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $18.95 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Christopher HowardEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-01
ISBN: 188123388X
Number of pages: 156
Publisher: Costa Rica Books
Book Reviews of Guide to Costa Rican Spanish
Book Review: Save your money, the Guide to Costa Rican Spanish is not useful
Summary: 1 Stars
I just returned from a 2-plus week trip to Costa Rica in which I took a Spanish-language immersion class. I had 3 college-level classes of Spanish before I went. I took the book (and left it there) as I did not find it at all useful. Here are my opinions:
1. A very critical pronunciation point was not even covered in this guide. The Costa Ricans pronounce the double ll (calle, apellido) in the same way as the Argentines, as a "dj" sound. So "calle", which in Mexico would be pronounced "ca-ye" becomes closer to "ca-dje" or ca-dge". (Obviously I am not a linguist). This is a major difference to how most of us learned Castillian or Mexican Spanish, and really should have been in the book.
2. The book has some practice pages on telling time, but did not mention that in Costa Rica, they don't use the traditional "Son dos menos diez" (it is 10 min of two) but instead us "falta": "Faltan diez minutos para las dos". Since time is critically important to a traveler, you do need to know that. In addition, the practice pages, which are clocks with hands, don't have the answers - so totally useless.
3. The book has some pronunciation practice, but without any pronunciation guide, making it quite worthless
4. OK, maybe I am a prude. But I started reading the book from the front, and was very offended by an early section entitled "Social Sitiuations". I suggest that the next edition, if there is one, should have this section follow "Legal Terminology". Those who consider these items to be "social situations" will need a lawyer.
5. My two professors at the language school told me that most Costa Ricans don't use "vos". According to them, it is used in Guanacaste (NW province) and in Nicaragua, but not in very many other regions. So you really don't need it.
6. The dictionary was pathetically short
7. The editor/author seemed to want to stretch the book to 200 pages, and there were advertisements, blank pages, etc in the book to fill it out. A more robust dictionary would be more useful.
8. It was chopped into different sections which would make it very hard to find something if you really needed it. Take a real dictionary, such as the portable Merriam-Webster. It fits right in a pocket and would be of more use than this phrasebook.
Summary of Guide to Costa Rican Spanish
A complete guide to Spanish for Travelers. Practical Pronunciation Exercises to Help you Sound Like a Native Spanish Speaker Useful expressions for Real Life Situations That You Will Encounter. Costa Rican Slang. Practical Vocabulary, Including Business and Legal Terms. Includes an English/Spanish-Spanish/English Dictionary.Reference Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Reference Books
The Professor and the Madmanby Simon Winchester
Harper; Published: 1998-08-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Fluid Mechanicsby Irfan A. Khan
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1995-06-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $137.00
Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasionby George Thompson
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2004-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.64
Price in other shops:
Collins Gem Latin Dictionary: Latin English English Latin (Gem Dictionaries)Harpercollins; Published: 1990-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $258.18
Collins Gem Latin Dictionary: Second Edition (Collins Language)by HarperCollins Publishers
Collins Reference; Published: 1996-10-11; Turtleback; Book
Best price: $4.03
Price in other shops:
Principles of Modern Chemistry (Study Guide and Student Solutions Manual)by Freeman
Harcourt School; Published: 1991-01; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Senseby John Ralston Saul
Free Press; Published: 1994-10-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Gmat Cat: Answers to the Real Essay Questionsby Mark Alan Stewart, Frederick J. O'Toole, Linda Bomstad
Macmillan General Reference; Published: 1998-03-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $56.54
Arco Words for Smart Test-Takers (Arco Academic Test Preparation)by Mark Alan Stewart
Arco Pub; Published: 1998-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.95
Seven Years In Tibet (Flamingo Modern Classic)by Heinrich Harrer
Flamingo; Published: 1997-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.20
Similar Books and other products
National Geographic Traveler: Costa Ricaby Christopher Baker
National Geographic; Published: 2009-01-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops:
Happier Than a Billionaire: Quitting My Job, Moving to Costa Rica, and Living the Zero Hour Work Weekby Nadine Hays Pisani
CreateSpace; Published: 2011-07-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.46
Price in other shops:
Lonely Planet Costa Rica (Country Travel Guide)by Matthew Firestone, Carolina Miranda, Cesar Soriano
Lonely Planet; Published: 2010-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.41
Price in other shops:
Frommer's Costa Rica 2011 (Frommer's Color Complete)by Eliot Greenspan
Frommers; Published: 2010-11-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.43
Price in other shops:
The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Ricaby Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz, Karen Zubris Biesanz
Lynne Rienner Pub; Published: 1998-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.12
Price in other shops:
The New Golden Door To Retirement and Living in Costa Ricaby Christopher Howard
Costa Rica Books; Published: 2010-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.75
Price in other shops:
The Wildlife of Costa Rica: A Field Guide (A Zona Tropical Publication) (Zona Tropical Publications)by Fiona A. Reid, Twan Leenders, Jim Zook, Robert Dean
Comstock Pub Assoc; Published: 2010-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.24
Price in other shops:
Frommer's Costa Rica 2012 (Frommer's Color Complete)by Eliot Greenspan
Frommers; Published: 2011-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.08
Price in other shops:
Fodor's Costa Rica 2012 (Full-color Travel Guide)by Fodor's
Fodor's; Published: 2011-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.41
Price in other shops:
Waterproof Travel Map of Costa Ricaby Ray Krueger Koplin, Suzanne Krueger Koplin
Toucan Maps Inc.; Published: 2011-05-15; Map; Book
Best price: $9.95
Price in other shops: