When visiting this beautiful tropical country, free of army, full of nature, plenty of many nice, friendly and hilarious people, you fall in love with it, that´s why many tourists from different countries decide to turn it into a second home and even get married. You experience new adventures and open your mind to new sensations. Since the feeling of emotion, you get surfing or practicing canopy, up to the feeling of joy having a nice conversation with an awesome Costa Rican you meet on the way. But, what would happen if you do not have that chance to enjoy this nice conversation because you do not speak Spanish? Is it possible to fall in love with something… or… someone else?

Elements to communicate…

When we want to communicate we have different types of languages and they are modified according to different elements such as culture, political issues, personal goals, audience or the receptor, among others.

“The Pragmatic Language”

It´s the kind of language we use since we are born, it includes gestures, facial expressions, body movements, tone of voice, volume, etc. In Costa Rica we have a very special pragmatic language; rising eyebrows, eye looking, handshaking, kissing, slapping on the back, hugging, and very special body language that you really need to give it a look, it can´t be explained with words.

Give it a try

If you wanna try on the Costa Rican pragmatic language you need to know some tips and meanings in order to don´t screw it up.

Well, first be careful with your eyes, don´t look at anybody for a long time or this person might think you are a stalker or that you are probably looking for trouble, if it´s an attempt to flirt this is not a good choice, you should try the oral one better. In Costa Rica people only kiss on the cheek to family and relatives and, sometimes we kiss close friends that we do not see very often. When you raise your eyebrows you show sarcasm, slapping on the back is just for boys, but when they are close friends and are having fun, Costa Rican people hug to show care, support and brotherhood, it is not rude it is even a way to make a person happy.

“The Receptive and Expressive Language”

Here we use the oral and written skills belonging to specific dialects.
The oral and written skills are the most important to communicate, the problem comes up when you do not speak the native language of the region.

Dealing with “Idioms”

Costa Rican native language is Latin American Spanish. Like every culture, we also have some typical idioms like the popular “Pura Vida”, “Jamar” which means: “to eat”, “Voy jalado”, it means: “I´m leaving”, among others. A very popular idiom that you should never use when flirting is to call a girl “Rica” or a boy “Sabroso” because you´ll show that you just wanna “play” with this person one night, well, if that´s what you want… do it, but there´s no warranty that it will work the way you expect…

Let´s learn how to communicate in Costa Rica…

Well, if one of your goals is to learn Spanish, get to know more about Costa Rican people customs, traditions, idioms and pragmatic language, while you discover this wonderful country come to Perfect Sunset School.

Here, at Perfect Sunset we have the best Spanish courses plus the immersion you need to master Costa Ricans´ wonderful and special characteristics, in order to have the best experience of your life and… why not discover if you fall in love with Costa Rica …or… in Costa Rica.