I noticed that Joshua was speaking to other volunteers with tú, the familiar you form in Spanish. I thought the other volunteers were starting to tutear Joshua because they didn’t realize that Costa Ricans speak in usted, the formal you form. Ticos even get in trouble in other countries sometimes because the usted form is seen as standoffish and snobby.
But then Joshua used tú with me. So I asked why, and he reminded me that Costa Ricans also use an archaic form called vos. The vos form is not related to the Spain Spanish form of vosotros, but is rather a familiar yet respectful singular form.
What’s interesting to me is that my friends in Heredia who are the same age as Joshua say they don’t use vos anymore, except sometimes with their parents. But on the Caribbean side they use it a lot.
