Official Guide to Costa Rican Spanish [Paperback]

Christopher Howard (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2010

An innovative one-of-a-kind guidebook for Costa Rican-style Spanish. It is specifically written and designed for travelers and above all English-speaking residents of the country to learn the nuances of the local language. It contains practical pronunciation exercises to help you sound like a native Spanish speaker, useful expressions for everyday situations you may encounter in Costa Rica, tips and short cuts for learning Spanish, vocabulary including business and legal terms, social situations, a SHORT English/Spanish - Spanish-English dictionary and more. This guide is the ONLY source for Costa Rican slang and expressions (tiquismos) in English. If you are thinking of moving to Costa Rica this book is a MUST in order to survive. Because of its handy size it can easily fit easily in a pocket or purse so you can have it with you at all times as you work your way through Costa Rica's linguistic jungle. Readers should NOT expect a complete course in learning the Spanish Language NOR a textbook but a practical introduction to Costa Rican-style Spanish.

Editorial Reviews

Review

We RECOMMEND this book to our members as valuable tool for learning survival Spanish. --Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR)

Want to live in or travel to Costa Rica? Buy the book! Christopher Howard is Costa Rica's linguistic guru. --Inside Costa Rica Newspaper

This practical pocket-size guidebook is jam-packed with information to help you speak like a native Costa Rican. It is the ONLY book of its kind. --By Steve Silver - Special for Costa Rica Today

About the Author

Christopher Howard has resided in Costa Rica for over thirty years and is a citizen of the country. He has an extensive foreign language background, having earned a B.A in Latin American studies and a Masters degree in Spanish from the University of California. At present, the author writes columns titled Learning the Language for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica's magazine La Voz, Short Cuts for Learning Spanish for several newspapers, on-line news groups and his popular blog. Because of his linguistic expertise, Mr. Howard is a featured lecturer on the topic of Learning Spanish at the Association of Residents of Costa Rica's (ARCR) monthly newcomers seminar. The author has written 16 editions of the perennial bestseller The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica,The Guide to Costa Rican Real Estate as well as 9 other guidebooks about the Central America, Mexico and Cuba. Christopher Howard has also conducted award-winning relocation/retirement tours to Costa Rica for over 15 years through his company Live in Costa Tours. His tours have been featured on the NBC Today Show, CNBC World News and in Newsweek and Oprah's magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Costa Rica Books; Second edition (July 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1881233871
• ISBN-13: 978-1881233879
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Howard has resided in Costa Rica for over 30 years and is Costa Rican citizen. During this time, he has had the opportunity to gather a plethora of information about living, retiring and investing in Costa Rica. It is not surprising that he has first-hand knowledge and insight into all aspects of Costa Rica's culture and its people. Because of his expertise, he is a frequent lecturer at numerous retirement and investment seminars. He has also appeared on the NBC Today Show and CNBC World Business News and was interviewed for Good Morning America.

Mr. Howard has extensive foreign language background, having earned a B.A in Latin American studies and a Masters degree in Spanish from the University of California. The author writes columns titled "Learning the Language" for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica's magazine La Voz, "Short Cuts for Learning Spanish" for the newspapers AM Costa Rica and Inside Costa Rica and the Costa Rica Living News Group.

Christopher has written 14 language and travel guidebooks about Latin America including 16 editions of the perennial bestselling "New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica", "Official Guide to Costa Rica Spanish" and the one-of-a-kind "Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica."

Due to a multitude of requests from the readers of his guidebooks, Christopher Howard began to offer monthly relocation and retirement tours to Costa Rica starting in 1997. Since then he has personally helped thousands of people move to Costa Rica successfully through his one-of-a-kind licensed tours, seminars and private consultation services. Please see www.liveincostarica.com for more information about his unique tours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speaking Costa Rican Spanish is now possible!, May 9, 2005

By 

Barbara Branscum (Belleair, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guide to Costa Rican Spanish (Paperback)

Christopher Howard has assembled the quickest and easiest way to learn the nuances of speaking Costa Rican Spanish like the native "Tico" speakers. His common sense approach to learning all the little things makes it a pleasure to practice speaking, and listening, as the locals do whenever I visit beautiful Costa Rica. I have more confidence in my communication ability now that I have this excellent book to guide me.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is MUST to Survive Here, April 5, 2006

By 

Nica Man (Nicaragua) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to Costa Rican Spanish (Paperback)

I spend most of my time in Costa Rica and part time in Nicaragua. When I came to came to this part of the world I virtually spoke no Spanish. I needed a quick injection of the language to get by. I did not have time to go to school. A friend recommended this book highly so I purchased. It has been so helpful. I can now get out of a lot of jams by using it. I even met the woman of my life by using some of the phrases in the book. The slang is also great.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Spanish Book Was Just What I Needed, June 7, 2005

By 

Bruce Murphy (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to Costa Rican Spanish (Paperback)

I have little ability when it comes to learning a foreign language nor do I have time to take language courses. This book gave me the basics to survive in Costa Rica. Now I can at least communicate. It has extricated me from a lot of jams. This book is like an idiots guide to Spanish. Buy it!