The English word 'Latino' (''Latina'' is the feminine form) may have derived from the
Spanish word ''latinoamericano''
[1] and most often refers to inhabitants of
Latin America, and their descendants in the United States. It is the abbreviated use of '
Latin-American';
Francophone Canadians are not normally referred to as ''Latino'', even though they speak a
Romance language.
The concept of "Latin America" was coined by the
French in the
1800s as a means of legitimizing French influence over the Spanish-speaking countries of
the Americas; compare
Latin Europe.
Napoleon III, cited ''Amérique Latine'' and ''
Indochine'' as goals for expansion during his reign. He proposed the Monarchy in Mexico headed by the Austrian Archduke Maximillian or
Maximilian I of Mexico. The term emphasized a common culture and history of the Romance language-speaking countries, as opposed to the
Germanic language-speaking countries of "
Anglo-America".
Usage in the United States
Since its official adoption in 1997, the definition and usage of the term by the
Federal Government is strictly as an ethnic, as opposed to racial, identifier, used together with the term
Hispanic.
[ Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity ][2]
Authorities of American English maintain a distinction between the terms ''Hispanic'' and ''Latino''.
[ American Heritage Dictionary ] ''Latino'' is not officially used as a
racial label, as a 'Latino' or 'Latin American' can be of any race.
[3]
Related terms
''Latino'' is sometimes used interchangeably with the following terms:
Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives: Identity and the Politics of (Re) Presentation, Oboler, Suzanne, , , , , ''Latin''
''Latin'' refers to the
Latin peoples (linguistic), i.e.
Romance-speaking Europeans, and those tracing most of their ancestry to them. ''Latin also refers to the
Romance-speaking Latin-Americans.
In the United States, the term ''Latin'' is often synonymous with ''Latino'' or ''Latin American'',
[1] [4] e.g.
Latin jazz, Latin Cuisine,
[2] ''
Latin music''. The
Latin Grammy Awards is an event in which many ''Latins,'' from the Latin American countries, the United States and Latin European countries participate. It is now being held in New York City, where the Latin culture has especially flourished.
''Latin American''
A ''Latin American'' is a national of a
Latin American country.
''Hispanic''
Main articles: Hispanic
Official use of the term ''Hispanic'' has its origins in the 1970
United States Census. The
Census Bureau attempted to identify all ''Hispanics'' by use of the following criteria in sampled sets:
[5]
:
★ Spanish speakers and persons belonging to a household where Spanish was spoken
:
★ Persons with Spanish heritage by birth location
:
★ Persons who self-identify with Spanish ancestry or descent
''Spanish''
Main articles: Spanish people
Spanish people are nationals of
Spain and those who trace their descent to Spain directly, not via a Latin American or other country.
''Lusitanic''
Main articles: Portuguese people
Lusitanic is the term is used to describe nations that share
Portuguese language and culture, such as
Brazil.
Related meanings:
★ Refers to the inhabitants of
Portugal.
★ Persons who self-identify with Portuguese ancestry or descent. See
Portuguese-Brazilian,
Portuguese Luxembourger,
Portuguese British,
Portuguese American and
Luso American,
Portuguese Canadians,
Portuguese Africans,
Portuguese Angolans,
Portuguese Mozambicans,
Portuguese-South Africans
★
Portuguese speaking peoples, or
Lusophone.
Rejection of the term
Arawak/Taíno Native Americans/Indians (the pre-Columbian inhabitants of Puerto Rico) have asserted to Census Bureau officials that there is a practice or mechanisms in place to discourage Latinos of Native American descent in Puerto Rico and the U.S. from choosing the Native American category as a race.
[6] Many of federally recognized Native American Tribes in the United States are Latino/Hispanic. Some 'Latinos' state that the term Latino marginalizes who they really are and distorts their individual histories.
[7] White Latinos are, in a sense, disassociated from their roots and histories that can be traced to Europe while Native American Latinos are disappropriated from their Native American origins and histories.
[8][9][10] This blurring or concealment of their identity and history impoverishes them psychologically and culturally.
[11][12][13] This confusion is the result of using a racial criteria for classifying people in the census as well as (for Hispanics/Latinos) a so called 'ethnic' or cultural criteria.
73 Many U.S. hospitals and health centers use the generic Hispanic/Latino term as a separate category, as if it were a race.There are dangers of not using raced base identification for latinos when a disease is more prone to a particular race. is that it does not identify the Latinos at risk and puts them in danger of not seeking medical help as soon as they would have if they would have been identified by race. In cases where medical conditions or diseases may be more prone to a particular race, using the generic term Hispanic/Latino causes confusion, incorrectly implying that Hispanic/Latino is one race, when in fact Hispanics/Latinos can be white, black, American Indian or multi-racial. Using the term in such a way can be costly, as does not identify the Latinos at risk and puts some Latinos in danger, (depending on their race and disease in question) as some will be lead to believe that they may be less or more at risk for certain illnesses and diseases and may cause them to get medical treatment later then they would have if they were identified correctly.
Groups such as the
Mexica Movement also reject the term ''Latino'' and describe it as a racist term that denies and obscures their
indigenous (Native American) identities. The group states ''Latino'' improperly associates people of different races, i.e. associating both the
Spanish colonizers and the indigenous inhabitants, especially the descendants of both groups, as the same ethnic group.
[. The Crimes of Hispanic and Latino Racist Labels: Everything You Need To Know About The Racism Of Hispanic And Latino Labels as Applied to People of Mexican and “Central American” Descent Tezcatlipoca, Olin ]
Related terms in other languages
''Latino'' in some of the
Romance languages, such as
Italian,
Portuguese and
Spanish, literally means a person from the
Lazio (ancient name:
Latium) region in
Italy and most notably, someone of ancient Italy's capital, Rome, as well as a member of any of the modern
European
Romance-speaking nations or peoples, and
Romance-speaking nations or peoples of the
Americas.
The
Spanish adjective ''latino'' (feminine: ''latina'') directly translates to English as "
Latin", not "Latino".
[14] Spaniards view themselves as being Latins, the same as Europeans with Latin heritage, such as
Italians,
Romanians,
French, and
Portuguese and any Latin Americans with any of these European heritages. It is generally accepted that Napoleon III was the first one who came up with the idea of having a "Latin America" back in the 1880's. He wanted a union between French language-speaking countries in America and other countries in America that also spoke one of the Latin-based Romance languages. However, there is evidence that before this time period, books were written by citizens of the Americas in which the authors referred to themselves as "Latin(o"). This is not unusual, as Latin European males and their descendants, whether living in Europe or abroad, would have referred to themselves in this way. Originally the term was used in Europe by the Italians and later by the Spaniards for many centuries prior to its usage in America. Many of the Latin American countries have interracial populations and a large percentage of the people in the Latin American countries self-identify themselves as being of Native American descent more so than being of Latin descent. However there is also a large percentage who self-identify as being Latin. This is because most of the entire population falls in groups of either European descendants and Indigenous Native American descendants. The extent of inter-racial populations vary in the different Latin American countries. (The same can be said of non-Latin Countries). Puerto Rico, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina will have different percentages of people of Latin ancestral descent as well as different portions of people of Native American descent. All however, are Latin American countries and are considered Latin.
[15][16][17] In Spanish, ''latino'', just like any other gentilic, is by convention not capitalized.
Most people in Latin America consider Latiness to be a
culture or a
lifestyle to some degree, in
Brazil as well as in Spanish-speaking countries in the region. Many Latin Americans therefore describe themselves as Latin whether they are of
white,
black,
Amerindian,
Asian, or mixed descent (
Mestizo,
Mulatto,
Zambo, etc).
See also
★
Boricua
★
Chicano
★
Hispanic America
★
Ibero-America
★
Isleños
★
Ladino
★
Latin America
★
Latino Australian
★
Latino Canadian
★
Mexican American
★
Spic
★
Tejano
Europe
★
Ancient Italic peoples
★
Ancient Rome
★
Latin
★
Spanish Briton
★
Latin American British
★
Latin Europe
★
Latin peoples (linguistic)
★
Latin Union
★
Latium
★
Lazio
References
1.
2. U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data
3.
4.
5.
Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States Gibson, Campbell
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. The dictionary of the Real Academia Española defines ten meanings for ''latino''. Normally, "Latin" refers to: a person of ancient Rome, the Latin language of the ancient Romans, and any of the Latin-based Romance-speaking countries and peoples in Europe or America (Latin America).[[3]]
15.
16.
17.
Bibliography
★ ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States'', 4 vls, Oxford University Press 2006, ISBN 0195156005
External links
★
Latino History
★
Mexica Movement Indigenous rights and education organization that aggressively challenges the application of the Hispanic and Latino labels toward people of Mexican and Central American descent. The groups states that the US government's usage of the term "Hispanic" is a top-down method of ethnically cleansing their indigenous identities.
★
PBS 'A Cultural Identity' Examines the creation of the Hispanic label by Richard Nixon.
★
Latino USA The Radio Journal of Latino news and Culture.
★
Soy-latino.de Latin Community People in Germany.
★
Latino Issues Forum Nonprofit Public Policy and Advocacy Institute
★
Latino Sports Legends
★
Latin America Network Information Center
★
What's In A Name?
★
Latin Dictionary and Grammar
★
Latinomigrante.com: Latino Community Portal in US,Canada
★
National Young Lords
★
Latino Cultural Heritage Digital Archives
★
Racial Classifications in Latin America
★
PoliticosLatinos.com Information about significant US Latino/Hispanic politicians, and links to bios and official Websites and other important information.
★
Dia De La Mujer Latina Hispanic or Latino?
USA Election Politics
★
PoliticosLatinos.com Videos of 2008 US Presidential Election Candidates' Positions regarding Immigration
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