Costa Rica 1

Listen to Costa Rica 1, a 24-year-old man from Alajuela, Grecia, Costa Rica. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 24

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 27/07/1984

PLACE OF BIRTH: San Jose, Costa Rica (but raised in Alajuela)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: Hispanic

OCCUPATION: student

EDUCATION: master’s degree

AREA(S) OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States, in 2008, just a year before this recording.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject was born in San José, Costa Rica. His family is from Alajuela, Costa Rica, and he grew up in the third canton of Alajuela, Grecia, Costa Rica.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: David Stogsdill

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 02/05/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

OK, well I was born in 1984, uh, in the capital city of my country, which is, uh San José, in Costa Rica. Uhh, but I didn’t live in San José; actually, uh, my family was from Alajuela, which is another city of Costa Rica. So, uh, uh, my parents told me that we live there for a few months; obviously I don’t remember. Uh, then we moved to Grecia, which would be like Greece. Uhm, which is another a smaller, much smaller city that is also part of the province of Alajuela. Uh, that’s where I grew up basically’ that’s, uh, where my childhood took place. I don’t know, um, I went, I went to school normally, I went to high school normally; I had friends. Uhhm, when I graduated from high school, I moved moved back to San José to, uh, to go to college at the University of Costa Rica. Uh, that was in 2002; uh, I finished my degree in 2006. Uh, I went into grad school over there in 2006, and that took all the way to 2008 when I came here to Lawrence.

Well, um, I actually don’t have full brothers; I have two step-brothers; the thing is that, uh, they are twenty years older than I am, so we didn’t really grow up together. But the fun stuff is that I have five nephews and nieces that are pretty much my age, so, well, I was a little older; I’m a little older than they are, but it was a lot of fun growing up with them; uh, I think they enjoyed. Uh, it was a little weird for them to call me uncle, though, because it made no sense, ha ha. But, I mean, uh, I, I  really miss those days; they are now grown-ups too, so.

TRANSCRIBED BY: David Stogsdill

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 02/05/2009

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

If you are a dialect researcher, or an actor using this sample to develop your skill in the accent, please see my instruction manual at www.paulmeier.com. As the speaker in this sample is a unique individual, it is highly unlikely that he will conform to my analysis in every detail. But you will find it interesting and instructive to notice which of my “signature sounds” and “additional features” (always suggested only as commonly heard features of the accent) are widely used by most speakers of the accent or dialect, and which are subject to variation from individual to individual.

COMMENTARY BY: Paul Meier

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 10/11/2016

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