Jan
29
Hispanic or Latino?
In the Anglo world, both words are used interchangeably and very broadly to refer to anyone from a Spanish-speaking country. But is there a difference?
Hispanic comes from the Latin word Hispania which was the original name for the Iberian peninsula which today is Spain and Portugal. Latino originally referred to the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) all descendants of Vulgar Latin.
But today both of these terms (hispanic and latino) are now used rather generically to refer to people from Spanish-speaking countries.
In the melting pot that is the U.S. using words like “hispanic” or “latino” are a shorthand way of saying Spanish-speaking or of Spanish heritage. But some people who fall into these categories don’t like the label. Inés Izquierdo Miller has written an illuminating article on the subject. She examines the issue and says that one term does not fit all.
Which terms do you use? Do you have a preference for one over the other?
The Spaniards I’ve come into contact with tend to not think of either of these two words as referring to them, but, when pressed on why will generally say, “Yeah, I guess we are.” Personally, I think it’s a gray issue that isn’t going to change and isn’t much worth thinking about because there’s no correct solution.
And then there’s the whole “american” thing
Me gusta mucho tu blog. Perdóname por monopolizar los comentarios.
Hi Erik,
I agree with you about the Spanish. Some get quite brittle about the term “hispanic” or “latino” and dislike the fact that homegrown actors like Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem are referred to as such in the English-language media. In my experience, many Spaniards would rather say that they were European than to say Hispanic.
By the way, feel free to monopolize away!
Hi,
I also agree that the Spanish don’t particuarly like being called either of the two. Perhaps a Mexican doesn’t like being called a hispanic or latino either, but would much rather be called a Mexican. Would an American (that is a citizen of the USA) like to be called English or British because they share a language and a history with a small island on the other side of the Atlantic? No they want to be called an American. Is it right to lump Central and South America into one or two words to define 19 countries? It’s true that there is a common language for the ‘Spanish speaking world’ as is true for the ‘English speaking world’
But thats where the similarities begin and end.
Hispanic or Latino? For me they’re outdated terms, we need to move on.
Love the blog, keep-up the good work!
Hi Brendan!
Thanks for the compliment!
Following up on your remarks, I’d like to say that the term Anglo-Saxon is sometimes used as a shorthand to refer to people from English-speaking countries. Someone from the U.S. could be referred to as “Anglo” and that wouldn’t necessarily be a misnomer, although using the term “British” would be. It seems to me that the terms “hispanic” and “latino” have picked up some baggage somewhere along the way and I’m not sure why. Does it have to do with social class, race, politics, history, all of the above? Meanwhile, I think few Spaniards would get annoyed at being called European, and that’s a term that applies just as easily as the aforementioned others.
Thank you for posting!
“I’d like to say that the term Anglo-Saxon is sometimes used as a shorthand to refer to people from English-speaking countries”
Very true, but as you say it ‘wouldn’t necessarily be a misnomer’ I used the term ‘British’ to describe how a person from the U.S. might feel as perhaps a Mexican might feel being called ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Latino and yes, these two terms have picked up some baggage, social class, race, politics, history, have all played there part.
I do find it interesting that in Europe a Spaniard in most cases will classify themselves as ‘white European’ when describing ethnic background, yet this does not seem to be the case in the U.S. with ‘South Americans.’ Is there a reason for this difference or is it a term that ‘South Americans’ choose not to use, or is it something that has been taken from them?
Many countries make up Europe but they are all Europeans and many countries make up the Americas so they to are all Americans? Just some food for thought…!
[...] over at Voices en Español has written an interesting post about the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino. Here in the United States, most people [...]
Hi all,
Well, here’s my take on this, which you may find interesting, as I’m a Spaniard. I know It will be controversial, but, here it goes anyway:
“Latino” or “Latin”, means something completely different on this side of the Atlantic, it refers, as the article says, to someone whose native tongue is one of the Romance languages. Italians, Spaniards, French, Portuguese and Romanians are Latinos. The term itself comes from the region surrounding Rome, which is called Lazio (Latium in Latin).
Hispanic, means “from HIspania”, the Roman province, which comprised Spain and Portugal. Now it refers to the Spaniards and the Portuguese.
Well, let me tell you something, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Argentinians, etc, are neither Latinos nor Hispanics. Surprise, surprise, they are, “latin-americans” or “hispanic-americans”.
I know this is confusing for someone from the States, as you use the term “american” to refer to yourselves exclusively.
In the Spanish language, there’s no confusion: we use the terms “latinoamericano” and “hispanoamericano”, to refer, respectiverly, to those who were born in the americas and whose mother tongue is one on the latin languages, and to those who were born in the americas and whose mother tongue is either Spanish or Portuguese.
If Mexicans are considered latinos, then people from Quebec or Haiti should also be considered so. I doubt very much they consider themselves latinos. But they are, as much as the Mexicans or the Cubans.
Brendan, we describe ourselves as “white European”, simply because that’s exactly what we are , which most of the Latin-Americans are not. Some of them are white, but definetely, not European. There’s a lot of diversity in the Spanish-speaking world: white, black, asian, native-american,etc.etc. Even in Spain, these days, with the enormous amount of immigration we are recieving, you can see Spaniards of all colours and walks of life.
Here in Europe it is a big taboo to classiffy people according to race. I think only the UK does it. We prefer to classiffy people according to their countries of origin. I’m not implying a system is better than the other, I’m just saying it’s a big taboo in most European countries.
Dear Español,
Thank you for your perspective. Much appreciated.
[...] Hispanic or Latino? [...]
THANKS to everyone for this discussion. I am from the US, love the Spanish language and have finally, after months of trying, found a native spanish-speaker for an intercambio! I am very excited, but also a bit anxious, hoping not to offend in any way. I appreciate this opportunity to become more sensitive to various ways people might feel.
De nada, Marilyn. Good luck with your new intercambio. And just in case you didn’t see this, check out some of the past entries on this blog about intercambios if you need a little inspiration to keep things flowing. You can find these entries by just typing the word “intercambios” in the search box at the top of the page. Here’s one sample entry:
http://spanish-podcast.com/2008/01/31/5-questions-to-ask-your-intercambio/
Please keep us posted on how it goes.
Well, maybe I can be an example of this. To be honest I find it strange to be called “Hispanic” or “Latino”. I’m Peruvian, and I speak Spanish but I feel that that’s it. My identity has always been Peruvian, and I’m of Andean origin. I might be mixed and have Spanish ancestors, but my parents never taught me about the terms Latin or Hispanic, nor my friends. They didn’t tell me that in the school either, and the first time I heard about it was on TV. Besides, when I was a school student they taught me that the Conquistadores came and made their horrible mess… but that we are free from them now. Maybe that’s why I feel so uncomfortable with those terms.
Taikobo, your perspective is one that is rarely reflected in the English-language media. Thank you for sharing your point of view.