¿Necesito saber español?
The easy answer would be, “No!” There are many English-speaking people in Costa
Rica and if you stay close to the larger metropolitan areas finding an English
speaker is rarely a problem. Taxi and Uber drivers, waiters, store clerks, and guides all seem to have at least
a little knowledge and vocabulary of the English language. An Airbnb host told
me that anyone who looks less that fifty years old probably has learned the
language in school. And with universal primary education most Costa Ricans
study English. Which means, even if you’re not fluent in any foreign languages,
you will probably be fine in Costa Rica.
That said, knowing the language
of your host country is a good way to ingratiate yourself to the locals. We
were Española illiterate. Neither of us had studied Spanish in high school or college
though I had taken French (which was worthless while living in Texas, as I did
at the time.) But Babel and Duolingo came
to the rescue. We both started a six-month
course of each language app, hoping to gain at least a little Spanish competency
before we made the transition to Central America.
While our motives were good,
six-months is not nearly enough time to learn a new language. We could have
studied for a year or two and still we would have been unprepared. Immersion in
the culture is the only way to gain proficiency.
Our efforts have not been for
naught though—we are getting better. The
expat community where we live has a variety of native Spanish speakers, or
second language speakers, and most of the workers speak little or no English. So there is an immersion affect which though
not total, is a good way to ease into the language gently. Mucho gusto!
I realize that I am a language
person. I need to be able to express myself—to communicate with others, and to
understand what they are verbally trying to convey to me—to be comfortable and
happy. There are apps for my Smartphone that help beside Babel. One is Google Translate. It allows you to type or verbally dictate into
the app and receive a translation either written or spoken from your phone
instantly.
While Google Translate can handle
sentences, conversations, or paragraphs, I mostly use it to look up words and
phrases that I can say to a store clerk, waiter, or cashier. People are pleased to help you if they see that you are trying to help yourself. If my pronunciation is too bad to be
understood, I will show the person my phone app or play the spoken translation for
them.
Works great—almost one hundred
percent of the time.
