Lexicon

For linguistics, the lexical component of a language – that is, the vocabulary – is shaped, adapted and rearranged to the new realities and needs of the social and cultural group.

In the case of Costa Rica, according to linguist Víctor Sánchez Corrales, its Spanish has a lexical heritage in common with other varieties of American Spanish. However, it possesses a significant number of words that will distinguish it from other types of Hispanic American and Peninsular Spanish.

The Costa Rican lexicon reflects the existential experience that Costa Ricans have about life, nature, their perceptions, the objects and animals that surround them, their emotions, their knowledge and beliefs, their meals, their crops, their work, their games, etc.

Thus, in Costa Rica we have our own ways of referring to parts of the body, clothing, animals, etc. For example, in a popular way, the shirt is called “chema”; the home is called “chante”; the head is called “jupa”. There are several of these cases that could be taken up in a separate article.

If you are curious about the Costa Rican lexicon, you can visit the Diccionario de barbarismos y provincialismos (Dictionary of Costa Rican Barbarisms and Provincialisms) by Carlos Gagini, the Diccionario de costarriqueñismos (Dictionary of Costa Rican Expressions) by Carlos Gagini and the Nuevo diccionario de costarriqueñismos (New Dictionary of Costa Rican Expressions) by Miguel Quesada Pacheco. With these tools, you will be able to examine in detail the typical language of the country. As the first two are older than the last one, it will also be interesting to analyze the evolution of Costa Rican expressions and lexicon.

Diminutives

In Costa Rica, the diminutives used are those ending in -ito. Those ending in -illo are used for particular things such as plants and animals: escobilla (Sida rhombifolia), achotillo (reddish color), aguacatillo (Phoebe Tonduzu), caballitos (carousel), candelilla (firefly), etc.

However, diminutives per se are not a country feature. In fact, they have existed in nouns and adjectives in the Indo-European languages since prehistoric times, but their development varies in the different branches of these languages.

Even so, the abundance of diminutives in Costa Rican Spanish is so notorious that Costa Ricans are distinguished by the name ticos. For Hernán Zamora, in the country, the -ito is used with strictly diminutive value, while the -illo is used with a derogatory sense: chiquito (affectionate qualifier) and chiquillo (term of contempt). It should be emphasized that Zamora’s study is from 1945 and that these descriptions may have varied over the years and that they apply in the vocabulary of people of past generations.

What really makes us stand out?

• The transformation of the suffix -ito to -ico when a t appears in the radical. Example: gat-ico.
• The doubling of the diminutive suffix that has earned the nickname ticos. Example: herman-it-ico.
• The loss of some euphonic sounds that appear in variations of -ito: -cito, -ecito, -ececito.

Diminutives may be part of the speech of most Latin American countries, however, in Costa Rica their use is very notorious.

Sensorial Sunsets

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers. When it was brought and taught in America by the Spanish colonizers, the Spanish language spread throughout almost the entire continent, displacing the native languages of the indigenous peoples. This is the reason why Spanish is spoken today in almost every country in America.

Since the American continent is so large, it is normal that Spanish varies from one country to another, that they do not have the same lexicon, nor the same accent. Thus, Costa Rican Spanish has its own characteristics that differentiate it from other Latin American countries.

Generalities

There are many specificities in Costa Rican Spanish. However, what can be said in general is that the Spanish spoken in Costa Rica is heterogeneous.

Why is this? The Spanish language in Costa Rica has been divided into two large dialectal zones: the Central Valley and Guanacaste. Even so, other smaller zones have been identified and, for some linguists, the dialects are found in five major regions:

• Valle Central (Central Valley)
• Zona Noroeste (Northwest Zone: Guanacaste, Península de Nicoya)
• Zona Atlántica (Atlantic Zone: province of Limón)
• Zona Norte (North Zone: San Carlos, Ciudad Quesada)
• Zona Sur (South Zone: Pérez Zeledón y part of Puntarenas)

On top of this, other studies have found sociolinguistic differences within regions.

Phonetics: The Erre Tica.

In phonetics we have several characteristic features, but the one that stands out the most is, without a doubt, “la erre (r) tica”.

In linguistics, it is proposed that /r/ underwent a process of asibilation in Costa Rican Spanish. This phenomenon is a phonetic change in which a non-syllabic consonant becomes a sibilant.

The peculiar sound (phoneme) has been described as “very fricative apicoalveolar aspirate”, with the symbol /R/, “multiple sonorant vibrant apicoalveolar” with /r/ or /ɹ̠/, “sonorant alveolar sibilant” with /ʐ/, among others (this will depend on the linguist). This phenomenon happens mostly in the Central Valley, because in Guanacaste the sound is usually “multiple sonorant vibrant”.

Phonology: Differences Between The Central Valley And Guanacaste

There are other aspects that differentiate the Central Valley from Guanacaste. In this case we will talk about phonology.

• The word-final /s/ sound tends to be aspirated or elided in Guanacaste Spanish.
• The intervocalic /ʝ/ tends to be elided in Guanacaste Spanish. For example “muchachillo” could be rendered as muchachio.

There are vowel changes such as:

• /e/ → [ i ] . For example, in “peor” (worse) which is realized as “pior”.
• /o/ → [ u ] For example, in “poeta” (poet) which is realized as “pueta”.

Finally, there are also accent changes:

• Maíz (corn) → máiz
• Oído (ear) → óido

Lexicon And Costarriqueñismos

Like any other country in the world, Costa Rica has its own distinctive lexicon or vocabulary.

In fact, several works have already been published compiling costarriqueñismos (Costa Rican expressions) in dictionary form: Dictionary of Costa Rican barbarisms and provincialisms(Gagini, 1893), Dictionary of Costarriqueñismos(Gagini, 1918) and, recently, the New Dictionary of Costarriqueñismos(Quesada Pacheco, 2007).

Likewise, Costa Rican Spanish is nourished by words from different cultures. For example, there are frequently used gypsyisms such as “achará” and its variant “acharita” (definition: regret for something that will not happen).

Despite the great influence of the Spanish in Costa Rican territory during the colonial period, names of plants, places, animals, etc. have been kept in their native language, such as Huetar:

• Place names: Siquirres, Tacares, Birrís, Patarrá, Quitirrisí
• Names of plants: poró, quitirrí, tora
• Names of animals: pirrís, purruja, yiguirro
• Common names: yurro (spring)

Voseo, Tuteo And Astedeo

The use of personal pronouns is a very interesting phenomenon. In fact, there are several studies that have analyzed the use of “vos”, “tú” and “usted”.

In informal situations, a very high percentage of Costa Ricans use and prefer “vos” rather than “tú”. For many, the oral “tú” is something corny and even effeminate; it is also an indication of foreignness, therefore, unacceptable in the mouth of a Costa Rican. According to the majority of the population, “vos” somehow represents naturalness, humility and originality. However, something curious happens in writing, since the Tico does find it acceptable to replace “vos” with “tú”.

In the case of “usted”, it can be used in both formal and informal cases, as it can be both respectful and affectionate.

These are some of the many characteristics of Costa Rican Spanish that make our way of speaking so special.

Sensorial Sunsets

Her unique writing style, which often included illustrations, made her books stand out from other authors of her time. He wrote about topics such as love, family and politics with a distinctive voice that addressed readers of all ages. Her works were not only popular in Costa Rica but also abroad. Readers from all over the world continue to enjoy her books, which have been translated into many languages.

Carmen Naranjo’s works were inspired by her own experiences, as well as those of others around her. She used words to create art that expressed joy, sadness and every emotion in between. Her pieces are a celebration of life and its complexities, capturing the beauty of everyday moments in unique ways.

A novel? To write a novel you have to live a whole life, you have to have a philosophy, you have to fill many pages. You won’t be able to do it tonight, so come and play for a while.

Carmen naranjo

The graphic production of Carmen Naranjo, her handling of space, line and color through the pen in her ” windows and astonishments” is still little known; a mixture of surprising drawings and small poetic texts.

Her work is a powerful example of how words can be transformed into images, creating a unique and captivating visual language. Through her illustrations, we can learn about her life and thoughts, as well as appreciate the beauty of her craft. Carmen Naranjo’s work is a reminder of how powerful words can be when combined with images.

The word that became an image

Her work has created several series of works based on poems, short stories and even a quick note. Through her artwork, she aims to capture the essence of the written word and express it through visual art. His work is a testament to how powerful words can be when transformed into something tangible like an image.

The anthropomorphic figures, the animals, his beloved trees and the natural landscape that he deeply loved make up the cosmos of her work. She has managed to capture the essence of nature in her works with a unique style that combines elements of realism and surrealism.

Through her art, Carmen Naranjo transmits a message of respect for nature and its inhabitants. These works are a reflection of her admiration for the beauty of nature and its creatures. She uses colors to express emotions such as joy, sadness or loneliness. Her pieces are also full of symbolism that viewers can interpret in many ways.

The windows of Carmen Naranjo

She began her artistic career by creating works that focused on the symbolic imagery in her work “La ventana” (The Window), where she used words to evoke a certain feeling in the viewer.

In this work, Naranjo uses a symbolic image to convey a message about the world. This image is a window that opens to another world, showing us a different perspective on life.

However, she soon broke free from this style and began to explore other ways of expressing herself through art. Subsequently, she went on to create works full of color and design, where both elements played a vital role in conveying her message.

Her work is not only beautiful but also thought-provoking. It encourages us to look at life differently and appreciate the beauty in everyday moments. The art allows us to take a step back from our hectic lives and reflect on our own experiences.

Zelda Walters for Sensorial Sunsets

Although we share the same language throughout Hispanic America and Spain, it varies in many ways from country to country and from region to region. These variants are called “dialects”. There are, for example, Argentine, Mexican, Chilean or Costa Rican dialects. They also present differences in some areas. In Spain, for example, it is spoken differently in Madrid and in Andalucía; in Costa Rica we have clearly defined a Central Plateau dialect and another one of the regions of Guanacaste and Puntarenas. Dialectal variations can include vocabulary, phonetics and grammar.

Let’s recall that in Spanish there are three grammatical persons, singular and plural; some have feminine gender. The first person is yo (the speaker); the second person (the receiver) can be tú, vos or usted and the third person (the one being spoken about) is él or ella. These three persons, in plural, are: nosotros (masculine) and nosotras (feminine) (first person), vosotros/vosotras and ustedes (second person) and ellos/ellas (third person).

As for the second person (singular or plural), there are forms of treatment of “trust” and “respect”, depending on the receiver.  When the receiver is a person of trust, tú or vos is used depending on the dialect, and when the receiver is someone of respect, usted is used. In the plural, the forms corresponding to the treatment of confidence are vosotros (you) and to the treatment of respect, ustedes (you).

In Costa Rica: “Usted”, “Vos” and “Tú”

The use of  vos in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, a dialectal characteristic of grammatical type is the use of the pronoun “vos”, instead of “tú” for the second person singular of trust. This is called “voseo”. Talking as vos to the receiver has been part of the Costa Rican’s cultural identity; this is an use that occurs in all social classes and in the cultured norm.

The cultured norm is the way of speaking of educated people, in any dialect; it is the one of prestige and the one used by academics, professionals and the media.

 Tú

 In spite of the fact that, in general, Costa Ricans consider that voseo is their own and it identifies them, some people -especially young people- have begun to use tuteo (talking as tú) in the country. This happens, possibly, because of the influence of television (soap operas and series dubbed in tuteantes countries), movies or radio, because of snobbery or because they consider tuteo to be more elegant and polite; those who use it feel different or important.

 Like tú, vos is used when the receiver is someone you trust (friend, classmate, colleague, person of the same age). However, it’s common in our country to use usted (second person singular of respect) to address the boyfriend, husband, parents, children and siblings, babies and small children, and pets. For example: “No llore, mi chiquito; ya le doy la lechita” (Don’t cry, my little boy; I’ll give you the milk) or “Lorita, deme la patica” (Lorita, give me your paw). With these people and pets, there’s a lot of trust and it would be expected that the vos would be used since, in tuteantes countries, the tú is normally used with them.

Usted

In these cases, in Costa Rica a usted is used, which can be considered a respectful affection and not a formal distance, as when the wife asks her husband: “Mi amor, recoja usted a Dani en la escuela, por favor” (My love, please pick up Dani at school). The treatment of usted is also used with strangers, hierarchical superiors and people of greater age, regardless of social class; it is combined, then, with the use of “don” (Mr.) and “doña” (Mrs.). To the gardener we would say: “Don Manuel, siémbreme esta begonia aquí, por favor” (Don Manuel, please plant this begonia here).

Vosotros/ Ustedes

Vosotros and vosotras (second person plural) are not used in America as the forms of address of trust corresponding to the tú from Spain. The only pronoun used is ustedes, both for respect and trust. Thus, instead of, “¿Dónde estudiaréis?” (Where will you study?), in Costa Rica and in the other American dialects we would say, “¿Dónde estudiarán ustedes?”.

On the New Use of Tuteo in Costa Rica and Conjugation Errors

“Usted”, “vos” and  “tú” in Costa Rica

Vos has its special verb forms in all tenses and modes in the present tense, but for the past and future tenses, the same forms are used as for tú.

For example, in the present tense (indicative, subjunctive and imperative):

“Vos cantás boleros muy bien” (You sing boleros very well), “Quiero que cantés en la fiesta” (I want you to sing at the party), “Cantá ahora” (Sing now).

In the past tense: “¿Vos cantaste (tú cantaste) en esa reunión?” (Did you sing at that meeting?), “Vos cantabas (tú cantabas) en un coro, ¿verdad?” (You sang (you sang) in a choir, didn’t you?).

In the future tense: “Vos cantarás (tú cantarás) en ese programa de televisión!” (You will sing on that TV show!)

A misuse currently heard among Costa Ricans trying to talk about tú is the mixing of verb forms in the same sentence.  They combine verbs conjugated with tú, with verbs conjugated with vos, and even with usted:

“Vení para que me digas que va a traer usted a la fiesta” (Come and tell me what you are bringing to the party) or “¿Cómo estás, mae? Yo bien, ¿y tú?; ¿cómo se siente después de la operación?” (How are you, mae? I’m fine, how are you; how do you feel after the operation?)

In the School System

Until a few years ago, in the Costa Rican school system, only tú and vosotros verbs were taught; even though they were never used in the spoken language, students learned to write them. For this reason, people who always spoke of vos, wrote with the forms of tú. Nowadays, voseo is taught to be written and many advertisements and dialogues in stories and novels present it.

Author: Gilda Rosa Arguedas Cortés   Linguist; retired professor at the University of Costa Rica. sirio1047@yahoo.com

References