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| INTRODUCTION |
| Carlos: I’m as Dry as The Desert. What’s going on? My name is Carlos. |
| Natalia: Soy Natalia. |
| Carlos: Natie, how are you on this wonderful day? |
| Natalia: All-in-all, everything is good Carlos and you? |
| Carlos: Can’t complain. You know Natie, it’s been a week since our last lesson. Can you refresh our memory and tell us what we looked into last time? |
| Natalia: Claro, Carlos. Last time, we examined the terms Gringo and tiquicia and we also looked into the difference using the verbs “ser” and “estar.” |
| Carlos: Right, right, right, right yeah, yeah….Okay yeah, it’s coming back to me now. Well then Natie, what we will be focusing on today? |
| Natalia: I mean Carlos, isn’t that a Celine Dion song, it’s all coming back to…. |
| Carlos: This is so corny, come on Natie, focus! |
| Natalia: Well, do I have to do everything? |
| Carlos: Well yeah, why should I if you are so good at it. |
| Natalia: Oh I know Carlos after all. |
| Carlos: That’s all it takes, a little flattery. |
| Natalia: Today, we are going to learn how to express ourselves when we are thirsty and some of our delicious burgess of Costa Rica. |
| Carlos: Um sounds refreshing. What about grammar? |
| Natalia: Well Carlos if you insist, we can take a look at the verb “querer.” |
| Carlos: Which means |
| Natalia: Patience Carlos. My grandma used to say good things come to those who wait. |
| Carlos: You know I waited long enough. I always had trouble with that phrase, I don’t really believe it but let’s see if it’s proven today. So with that in mind, let’s get into today’s lesson. |
| Natalia: So Carlos, which conversation should we look at first? |
| Carlos: Well to get us started here, let’s refresh our memories by going back to newbie lesson 8 where we heard the following conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| GUSTAVO: ¡Tengo mucha sed! |
| JAIME: Yo también tengo sed. |
| GUSTAVO: ¿Quieres una bebida? |
| JAIME: Sí, quiero tomar un jugo. |
| Carlos: This time with a translation. Ahora incluiremos la traducción. |
| GUTAVO: ¡Tengo mucha sed! |
| Carlos: I am really thirsty. |
| Carlos: Yo también tengo sed. |
| JAIME: I am thirsty too. |
| Carlos: ¿Quieres una bebida? |
| GUSTAVO: Do you want to drink? |
| JAIME: Sí, quiero tomar un jugo. |
| Natalia: Yeah I want to drink a juice. |
| Carlos: So Natie, does that conversation sound very local or do you think it will be understood pretty much anywhere Spanish is spoken. |
| Natalia: Anyone who speaks Spanish would understand that for sure. |
| Carlos: Alright. So now, let’s hear what this conversation might sound like in Costa Rican Spanish. |
| DIALOGUE - COSTA RICAN |
| JESÚS: ¡Qué secona tengo! |
| NICOLÁS: ¡Ay, sí! Yo también estoy seco. |
| JESÚS: ¡Estoy más seco que el desierto! |
| NICOLÁS: Tomemos algo. |
| JESÚS: ¿Quieres un refresco? |
| NICOLÁS: No, prefiero un batido. |
| Carlos: Once again slowly. Una vez más, esta vez lentamente. |
| JESÚS: ¡Qué secona tengo! |
| NICOLÁS: ¡Ay, sí! Yo también estoy seco. |
| JESÚS: ¡Estoy más seco que el desierto! |
| NICOLÁS: Tomemos algo. |
| JESÚS: ¿Quieres un refresco? |
| NICOLÁS: No, prefiero un batido. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Natalia: Carlos, do you notice the differences between these conversations? |
| Carlos: Well yeah some of them I am just waiting for your explanation. |
| Natalia: Well let’s start by looking at the way the question I am really thirsty was asked in the conversation from Newbie lesson 8. There we heard. |
| Carlos: Tengo mucha sed. Right and in the Costa Rican version, what did we hear? |
| Natalia: Qué secona tengo. |
| Carlos: I am parched. Umm wait, you know Natie, question. |
| Natalia: Claro que sí, Carlos. |
| Carlos: I mean the word “secona” I mean Jesús said “qué secona tengo” and Nicolaus responds with |
| Natalia: ¡Ay, sí! Yo también estoy seco. |
| Carlos: Oh yeah and I am thirsty too but I am confused. Doesn’t “seco” translate it as dry. I mean what about “secona”. |
| Natalia: Well “secona” is a variation of the word “seco”. It’s a way of turning this adjective into a noun. |
| Carlos: Okay so if the adjective “seco” means dry, “secona” means like drought? |
| Natalia: Well that’s a good try Carlos but in order to say drought, we use the word “sequía”. |
| Carlos: Oh okay so if “seco” means dry and “sequía” means drought, I mean come on, you are having me wait. What does “secona” mean? |
| Natalia: The thing is that the word “secona” is idiomatic. |
| Carlos: Oh okay, okay, okay. |
| Natalia: When we say “Qué secona.” or “Tengo una secona.” we are talking about how thirsty we are. |
| Carlos: And is this the kind of expression I should use in like a nice restaurant while I am waiting to order a drink. |
| Natalia: I wouldn’t do that if I was you but this is a pretty informal expression. It is the kind of thing that you can say to your friends or close relatives definitely for informal situations. |
| Carlos: Well good to know but then Natie, you know as always, can you tell me the last time this expression was used? |
| Natalia: Well when I walk 90 blocks on my way to work, I got to hear crawling saying “¡Qué secona!” |
| Carlos: And she thought about no one listening to complaining. Alright, so once again the standard way to say I am thirsty is “Tengo mucha sed.” and in Costa Rica, you might hear |
| Natalia: ¡Qué secona tengo! |
| Carlos: And that means something like I am so thirsty or I am parched. |
| Natalia: No before we move on to another comparison, I just want to mention one more thing about the word “seco”. |
| Carlos: Go ahead. |
| Natalia: Well it came up twice in the conversation. First Nicolás says “Yo tambien estoy seco.” and then Jesús responds by saying “Estoy más seco que el desierto.” |
| Carlos: Okay yeah, I’ve never heard that before. |
| Natalia: Yeah this is a funny expression and it will be understood anywhere. |
| Carlos: Well then, what does it mean? |
| Natalia: It means something like I am drier than the desert. |
| Carlos: And by dry, I take it that you are not talking about your sense of humor. |
| Natalia: What do you think Carlos? |
| Carlos: Oh! Ey, ey sometimes you keep me guessing. |
| Natalia: Well with this expression, we are just emphasizing on how thirsty we are. |
| Carlos: I see and you say “seca” instead of “seco” because you are female right? |
| Natalia: Exactly. So Carlos, if you were going to say this, how would it sound? |
| Carlos: Umm let’s see “Estoy más seco que el desierto.” |
| Natalia: Qué EL desierto. |
| Carlos: Qué EL desierto. Estoy más seco que el desierto. |
| Natalia: That’s great. |
| Carlos: Practice, practice 1, 2, 3. You know, it’s not very hard when you explain it so well. |
| Natalia: Oh okay but let’s move on and talk about a really important verb. I am talking about “querer”. |
| Carlos: And I want to talk more about Costa Rican customs and culture. |
| Natalia: This is important Carlos. |
| Carlos: But Natie, they can listen to Joe and Bae’s new verb conjugation series if they want to learn about verbs. |
| Natalia: Yeah but this will help everyone to put the pieces together and see that even though Costa Rican Spanish has proper expressions on one hand, on the other, it’s still Spanish. |
| Carlos: Okay I see what you mean. You know it is important to recognize commonalities too. All right, so where did this come up in the conversation? |
| Natalia: ¿Quieres un refresco? |
| Carlos: Do you want a soft drink? Okay so here we have the verb “querer” and this means to want, right? |
| Natalia: Right. Now Carlos, when we ask “quieres” are we saying, did you want, do you want or will you want? |
| Carlos: Do you want. |
| Natalia: Right. So does this mean that we are in the present tense? |
| Carlos: Okay. Just putting the pressure on. Yes, yes, it is the present tense. |
| Natalia: No, here with the form “quieres” we are addressing one person informally “¿Quieres tú? do you want. |
| Carlos: Okay, okay see this is great. I for once have recognized how important verbs are in Spanish. I mean seriously there are so many different endings, it’s almost daunting. |
| Natalia: I know it’s a lot different than English in this way but the changes in the endings have patterns. So that’s what learning Spanish is all about, recognizing the patterns. |
| Carlos: No doubt. |
| Natalia: For example, in this conversation, the verb “querer” and “preferir” both change in the same way. |
| Carlos: Wait! I didn’t notice that. I mean how so? |
| Natalia: Well how do you spell “querer” which is the infinitive form? |
| Carlos: Umm querer |
| Natalia: Good. Now how do you spell “quieres”? |
| Carlos: Qu – oh I get it. |
| Natalia: Umm you didn’t finish. |
| Carlos: Oh wait! I am sorry but I got it, I am happy. |
| Natalia: No. |
| Carlos: Hold on! Okay, okay, sorry, sorry quieres. Okay so when the verb “querer” is conjugated in the present tense on the indicative mood, the e changes to ie. |
| Natalia: Right. So we say “yo quiero” I want from the infinitive form “querer, quiero”. See what the ie stands, “quiero”. |
| Carlos: quiero |
| Natalia: quiero |
| Carlos: Quiero. Yeah that sounds smooth. |
| Natalia: And also “quieres”, you want. |
| Carlos: Quieres. All right, you know what, I see, I think I get it, yeah. |
| Natalia: And “quieres” this form is used for he, she, and the formal way to address someone “usted”. |
| Carlos: Quiere. |
| Natalia: Now the next two forms are the exception. When we say “queremos” we want, there is no stem change. |
| Carlos: Ah okay. So “queremos”. |
| Natalia: Right and the same thing happens with the verb “quereis” you all want even though we don’t use this form much in Costa Rica. |
| Carlos: Right but you know, it’s good to know the form exists because you know if a Spaniard comes here on vacation or something, she is going to be using this form. |
| Natalia: For sure and then the last form we have of the stem change again is “quieren”. |
| Carlos: “Quieren”. Okay right, so and then we use this form to talk about they or you all when we are just in group – people formally, right? |
| Natalia: That’s right. So again, the only time that the ue stayed the same was in the infinitive and the first and second person plural. |
| Carlos: No that really changes the pronunciation. |
| Natalia: No like I said, the same thing happens with the verb “preferir”. So Carlos, if we change the verb “querer” to “quiero” in order to say I want, how will we change the verb “preferir” in order to mean I prefer. |
| Carlos: Why am I always under the spotlight? Okay hold on, that letter E in the stem we changed to an ie, so it would be “prefiero”. |
| Natalia: Right Carlos. You are getting better at this, “yo prefiero, tu prefieres, él prefiere”, but the change doesn’t occur with “nosotros preferimos” and “vosotros preferis” and then we see it again with “él prefiere”. |
| Carlos: Well, you know what Natie, you are kind of right. It is all about recognizing the patterns. Okay now let’s go over some of the localisms that came up in today’s conversation. To begin with, look at the term “refresco” Natie, whenever I am in a restaurant and usually have a combo meals that includes “refresco” but you know, I order one and I can either get a coke or a juice. I mean I’ve been drinking them since I’ve been in the country and I am not particularly sure what that word means. |
| Natalia: Bueno Carlos. Costa Rica is blessed by the geography and climate and we have an abundance of tropical fruits. |
| Carlos: Okay. |
| Natalia: Okay. So “refresco” or “refresco natural” is a drink that is made up from almost any kind of fruits squeezed or blended with water and sugar or milk. |
| Carlos: No wonder, this is always so sweet. |
| Natalia: Well Carlos, if you want it with milk, you only say “con leche” or for just water, now what do you think? |
| Carlos: Again with the spotlight, okay. Con agua. |
| Natalia: Con agua. Yeay he is learning. |
| Carlos: Degree by degree Natie, degree by degree. So what are some of the flavors I could ask for? |
| Natalia: Umm there is a lot of them. Well you can ask for “mora, melón, zanahoria, cas, mango, naranjilla, papaya, piña, guanábana, carambola, fresa, tamarindo, sandia…” I could go on and on. |
| Carlos: Ah okay, well you know that, this is kind of confusing because Melon, Mango, Papaya, even piña, those I recognize but man, it’s just hard. These are even hard to say “gua- |
| Natalia: guanabana |
| Carlos: guanabana |
| Natalia: Well “mora” it’s blackberry “zanahoria” it’s carrot “carambola” star fruit “fresa” strawberry. |
| Carlos: Okay and the others. |
| Natalia: Well Carlos, they don’t all have English translations. Just try to be adventurous in life. |
| Carlos: I will try. |
| Natalia: You can just throw a bunch of drinks and then sit and try them all. |
| Carlos: Okay. Someone has money. Let’s see what happens. I will make sure to keep that in mind. You know but Natie Jesús asks “¿Quieres un refresco?” do you want a Refresco and Nicolaus replies |
| Natalia: No, prefiero un batido. |
| Carlos: No I prefer a “batido”. Now I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want a Refresco if they were thirsty. It pretty much sounds refreshing. I mean well, you know what occurred to me. Refresco refreshing, wow okay. I will just send the link now but wait, maybe I am wrong. I mean what’s a “batido” |
| Natalia: Well Carlos “batido” is very similar to Refresco. A “batido” is a fruit shake or smoothie which really is just a Refresco but a little thicker. |
| Carlos: Well you know what, sometimes a smoothie is more satisfying than anything else. So could I get the same flavors? |
| Natalia: Yep. |
| Carlos: Natie, ¿Quiere usted un refresco? |
| Natalia: Mm Carlos, yo prefiero un cafecito. |
| Carlos: Man, this girl loves her coffee. She needs that caffeine shakes all the time. |
| Natalia: Let me be. |
| Carlos: So Natie, what are you favorite flavors of Refrescos? |
| Natalia: Mi fresco favorito es el de arándano. Cranberry. You should try to say that word Carlos Arándano. |
| Carlos: arándano |
| Natalia: arándano |
| Carlos: arándano |
| Natalia: arándano |
| Carlos: arándano |
| Natalia: Yeay! Well do you notice the difference about what I said? |
| Carlos: No. |
| Natalia: I said “fresco.” |
| Carlos: So is that something different than Refresco? |
| Natalia: It’s the same thing but if you look at it, it’s just a short form of saying Refresco. |
| Carlos: Okay. So I will make sure to keep that in mind next time I am ordering something. |
| Natalia: Yes “refresco” or “fresco.” |
| Carlos: Oh cool, that’s a nice little tidbit to know. |
| Natalia: Uhoo! |
Outro |
|---|
| Carlos: Okay this wraps up today’s lesson. You know what Natie, as always it’s been great. |
| Natalia: De la misma manera, Carlos. Be sure to reference this lesson with newbie lesson 8 |
| Carlos: We will see you next week. |
| Natalia: Chao. |
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