Rating: 
Summary: I wish that I had bought this before my trip!
Review: A friend of mine bought me this book after I returned from Costa Rica. It has great tips on Costa Rica and helped me to understand all of the slang and expressions that I could not follow when I was there. The chapter on the language of Limon state is interesting and helpful too. I will have to study up on this book before my next trip to paradise.
Rating:
Summary: a taste of home
Review: As a Costa Rican living in the US, I often think of my beautiful home country. This book, by Thomas Kohnstamm, brought back many memories of home and brought a smile to my face. It is accurate and contains many quirks of Tico culture and language that I had started to forget about. I especially like it because it is respectful of our culture and appreciates our land and people. It does not treat Costa Rica just as another travel destination. If you plan to visit Costa Rica you should definitely check out this book.
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Summary: Dialogue & Dialects
Review: As a professor of Spanish I was hoping to find a good phrasebook on Costa Rican Spanish for a group of students that will be studying in San Jose next summer. I have always used Lonely Planet's guides when travelling abroad. However, I was very disappointed with this phrasebook. Beginning with the explanation of pronunciation, which is basically a guide to pronouncing Spanish with a strong American accent, the book is full of elementary mistakes regarding grammar, vocabulary and phonetics. For example, the "o" in Spanish is never pronounced as the "o" in "hot". There are similar mistakes throughout the pronunciation section. Perhaps one of the most important facts about Costa Rican Spanish is the complete absence of the subject pronoun "tu" (you) and its accompanying verb conjugations, as is the case in most of Central America, Argentina and many regions throughout Latin America. All Costa Ricans either use the more formal "usted" or the less formal "vos". You will never hear "tu tienes" (you have) in Costa Rica but rather "vos tenes". But this phrasebook claims that the "vos" forms are less common than "tu", when in fact the later doesn't even exist there. There are many more mistakes in the explanation of grammar, the subjunctive, "ser" and "estar", and others. The rest of the book is a series of phrases with the English translation. You would assume that Lonely Planet would have the resources to provide better material for travelers.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy a good bilingual dictionary instead
Review: As a professor of Spanish I was hoping to find a good phrasebook on Costa Rican Spanish for a group of students that will be studying in San Jose next summer. I have always used Lonely Planet's guides when travelling abroad. However, I was very disappointed with this phrasebook. Beginning with the explanation of pronunciation, which is basically a guide to pronouncing Spanish with a strong American accent, the book is full of elementary mistakes regarding grammar, vocabulary and phonetics. For example, the "o" in Spanish is never pronounced as the "o" in "hot". There are similar mistakes throughout the pronunciation section. Perhaps one of the most important facts about Costa Rican Spanish is the complete absence of the subject pronoun "tu" (you) and its accompanying verb conjugations, as is the case in most of Central America, Argentina and many regions throughout Latin America. All Costa Ricans either use the more formal "usted" or the less formal "vos". You will never hear "tu tienes" (you have) in Costa Rica but rather "vos tenes". But this phrasebook claims that the "vos" forms are less common than "tu", when in fact the later doesn't even exist there. There are many more mistakes in the explanation of grammar, the subjunctive, "ser" and "estar", and others. The rest of the book is a series of phrases with the English translation. You would assume that Lonely Planet would have the resources to provide better material for travelers.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun And Fulfills It's Purpose
Review: Hi, I found this book to fulfill it's purpose of being a quick reference guide for the basics of Costa Rican Spanish. While not exactly correct in all areas, it is in most. I don't think one should use it to try to become an expert, it's not intended for such. It is true that "vos" is used much more often than the "tu'" (you) form and "usted" is used more often than both. I will tell you that I have heard a few Ticos using "tu'" in informal situations and often receive e-mails from my Tico friends using the "tu'" form so it's not completely uncommon. To cut it short, no, it is not a Spanish textbook and I don't believe it was supposed to be but it certainly more than gets the job done, especially for the price, it's a good deal. For compactness, ease of use and value, I haven't found anything better so far. I also found it to be a fun little book.
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Summary: Reviews, Spanish Language & Why I went to Costa Roca
Review: I am so glad I read through the Amazon reviews on this book before purchasing. I realized before I left that I wasn't looking for a treatise on grammar or an indepth look at the local idiosyncracies of the Spanish language. I already speak Spanish (Intermediate-High, ACTFL rating)and, even though I learned my Spanish at school in Monterrey, Mexico, I have been able to successfully navigate around Spanish-speaking countries all over the world. I wanted a phrasebook that would allow me to understand how to visit this delightful country respecting local cutural standards, and that's exactly what this book did. Just as I used the usted and ustedes forms in Spain, and polite and educated people understood me, I was able to use tienes, and the occasional tú, in Costa Rica without creating any confusion. The important thing is that the people, educated or otherwise, in Costa Rica appreciated the fact that I wanted to visit their country and learn more about their culture, and was willing to (use this book in order to) be a respectful visitor. I think it's a wonderful book, albeit not an all all-inclusive resource, but then, what book at this price is? For us average folks touristing the world, this is well worth every cent.
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Summary: in defense of criticisms
Review: I am the author of this phrasebook and would like to respond to recent criticisms on the content of the book. Please excuse my star rating of my own text, but ... will not let you post a review without a rating. I would like to make 3 basic points.1. This is a phrasebook for travellers, it is not the official Costa Rican Colloquial Dictionary, nor a list of idiomatic expressions. It was written to help travellers to conduct themselves in Costa Rica, not to determine every aspect of the Costa Rican dialect. Many of the more esoteric expressions that were originally included in the book were cut in order to appeal to Lonely Planet's market. Once again, this was not intended to be a dictionary for Ticos. 2. There was consultation and editorial assistance by a bilingual Costa Rican throughout the entire writing process. He is credited in the acknowledgements. Although I am not a native speaker, my experience in different parts of Latin America enables be to determine regional differences in the language. 3. This is a unique book, unlike other phrasebooks on Latin American Spanish. Perhaps if Mr. Mora were not Costa Rican, he would have the perspective to see how the Spanish in the book differs from the Spanish of other parts of Latin America and other phrasebooks. He is taking many of the vocabulary and grammar nuances for granted. This is a phrasebook to help travellers to communicate and conduct themselves specifically in Costa Rica. If that is what you want, this book will help you in ways that other phrasebooks cannot. Thank you, Thomas
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Summary: Fugettaboutit!
Review: I bought this book and faithfully kept it with me during my two-week trip to Costa Rica in 2003. I went to a rural area on the Pacific coast where English speakers were few and far between. I found the phrase book to be annoying because everytime I tried to find something in it, I couldn't! All I could seem to find was how to ask a girl to dance or to ask if she has Herpes. The short phrase sections in the guidebooks I brought were much more helpful.
And a tip: Ticos under the age of about 16 generally all understand some English thanks to the excellent Costa Rican school system whereas anyone over 30 is hit-or-miss.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Useful Language Book for Future Residents
Review: I haven't been to Costa Rica yet, but when I do I'm taking this with me. Muchas Gracias, amigo.
Rating:
Summary: Thomas Kohnstamm Rocks my World
Review: I haven't been to Costa Rica yet, but when I do I'm taking this with me. Muchas Gracias, amigo.
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