The Concept of "Now"
Ahora vs. Ahorita
'Now', in Costa Rica, does not always mean now. Often you hear that Costa Rican culture simply
places less importance on puncuality, but the word now, 'ahora', can actually denote
different things than the English 'now'. With the combination of these cultural and linguistic
differences between Latin and Anglo societies with respect to "now", one is left wondering
(in this case in Costa Rica) whether the word 'now' actually exists.
If you look in a Spanish dictionary, you'll likely find 'ahora' as the word for 'now'.
In Costa Rica, though, 'ahora' really only means 'now' when you are referring to something
in the past as a frame of reference. For instance, in the Spanish sentence, "Hasta ahora nadie
ha hecho la ensalada" (Until now no one has made the salad), the word 'ahora' means
the present time or moment only in that it refers to nobody having done something in the past.
However, if you were to translate into Costa Rican Spanish the imperative, "Make the salad now!",
you couldn't simply use the "dictionary definition" of 'ahora' for 'now'. "Haga la
ensalada ahora" to a Costa Rican means "make the salad later".
So, 'ahora' in Costa Rica usually means 'later'. "Ahora más tarde" is a common
Costa Rican expression that is used to put something off. After gaining more experience with the word,
I eventually figured out that in Costa Rica 'ahora' is a distinction between the
past and anything in the present projected toward the future. I had a hard time understanding this
seemingly oxy-moronic phrase when I first got to Costa Rica. 'Ahora', although not always respected
as the present moment in other Latin American cultures (for largely cultural reasons), had always
denoted for me the concept of 'now' in English. After spending two years in Costa Rica, however, I
have learned to use other things in place of 'ahora', like 'ya', 'vamos',
or 'jale' (literally the imperative 'pull'), all of which express the urgency
that 'ahora' lacks. If you still insist on using the word 'ahora' to refer to
the present moment (and only the present moment) you must say 'ahora mismo'
to specify "this exact moment in time".
Examples of 'ahora'
-
Ahora más tarde = Sometime later on
-
Ahora vamos para el supermercado = We'll go to the supermarket sometime later
-
El no estaba enojado, per ahora sí = He wasn't angry, but now he is
(using the present to differentiate from the past)
If you don't find this confusing, then I probably haven't explained it very well. An English speaker
really should be confused by the use of 'now' in Costa Rica. Another word that causes an equal
amount of confusion is 'ahorita'. 'Ahorita' in Costa Rica is not simply the
diminutive form of 'ahora'. Although many Latin American countries use the word
as another way of saying 'now', in Costa Rica 'ahorita' means "in a little bit" or
"a little bit ago". Foreigners often have problems with this word and usually mistake it for the
English 'now'. This confusion is easily remedied after a few bad experiences of something taking
an hour or two longer to happen than expected. 'Ahorita' in the past as "a little bit ago",
although perhaps understood by the veteran foreigner, largely goes unnoticed by conscious thought.
I figured this out by talking to many North American expats who were unaware that 'ahorita'
could refer to something in the past. After giving a few examples, though, the concept of 'ahorita'
in the past was revealed to their conscious linguistic awareness.
Examples of 'ahorita'
-
"Ahorita nos vamos" = "We'll leave in a lit bit"
-
"El año pasado ella estaba en Nicaragua, pero ahorita está en Costa Rica" =
"Last year she was in Nicaragua, but lately she's been in Costa Rica (now she's in Costa Rica)"
-
"Ahorita fuimos a la playa" = "We went to the beach a little bit ago"
|
