Choteo, verbal play to take someone down a peg, has a central role in Costa Rican culture and language. It also presents a challenge to those trying to break new ground.
Katherine Stanley Obando discusses bicultural family life, writing as a new parent, and why "manda huevo" is her ultimate Costa Rican phrase. Meet the author of The Tico Times' new book, "Love in Translation."
It’s not pretty, that’s for sure, but if you’re going to speak Spanish long enough to get a flat tire, or deal with significant bureaucratic trámites, or watch sports of any kind, or navigate the workplace, you’re going to hear it.
Fred Benenson is raising funds for an online tool that could translate even complex English sentences into emoji. Unlike other efforts in this vein, Benenson's "Emoji Translation Project" won't just match keywords to their equivalent symbols and sub the symbols in. Instead, it will work much like Google's high-powered translation engine.
She speaks for the president but few have ever heard her voice. Estefanía Carvajal, 28, is the first official Costa Rican sign language interpreter for Casa Presidencial.
In English, I'm a crotchety old-school grump. I am an editor and a former English teacher, and happily embody the worst qualities of both, brandishing a red pen and waging a warring battle against change. In Spanish, I have no such loyalties. I have the tone deafness of the second-language learner.
