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A friend asked me the difference between between "Latino" and "Hispanic". In my view a Latino(a) would be of Latin America origin and an Hispanic would be any person of Spanish blood (including Latin America).
Que sería la diferéncia? Que opinan ustédes?
I agree with you, Vicente. By the way, "diferencia" and "ustedes" should not have accent.
Thanks Daniel!;)
Yes, I agree with Daniel.
Hispanic includes all Spaniards. Latinos only those from Latin America :)
Actually, "Hispanic" and "Latino" is a terminology principally used in the USA, frequently derogatory and used to describe members of the immigrant minorities in the USA originating from Latin America and the Caribbean Islands that once formed part of either the Spanish or Brazilian Empire.
Hence, "Hispanic" refers to immigrants to the USA originating in those countries which were once part of the Spanish Empire (Spanish speaking), while "Latino" encompasses all imigrants from LATIN America and does not differentiate by cultural origin or language (Portuguese or Spanish).
Surprisingly, in the USA, Spanish immigrants are generally referred to as Spaniards. In Spain however, Argentines, Uruguayans, Columbians, etc. are referred to as "sudacas" (derived from sudamérica) whereas Brazilians, while also from South America are called brazileros.
The above observation is derived more from experience than from linguistics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gavin Edward
I am a native born U.S. citizen with more years than I care to think about. I have lived or traveled in most parts of the U.S. I can state unequivocally that Latino and Hispanic are not frequently used as derogatory references to persons of either Latin American descent or Spanish descent. In fact, these terms are widely accepted in schools and by the government in official records. Certainly, there are derogatory terms that are used in the U.S. but these two are not among them. There is nothing derogatory about either. If either were to be intended to be derogatory it would have to be through voice inflection or in a manner clearly meant to be derogatory, as in "He's a damn Latino!"
Moreover, the term Spaniard is rarely heard. If we know a person is from Spain, yes, but that would be true for any person whose country is known. A Mexican is a Mexican; a Colombian is a Colombian; a Brazilian is Brazilian, etc. Any person who speaks Spanish in this country is often referred to simply as "Spanish", and it doesn't matter what Spanish speaking country he is from. He could be from Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean or Spain. Unless they have traveled to them, the average person in the U.S. doesn't know very much about the countries south of us and would be hard pressed to name the countries in Central and South America. Most are familiar with Mexican and Colombian **** cartels because of the violent history of **** smuggling from those countries and which have made them virtually household words but many do not know many of the names of Latin American countries or how many there are.
In general, Hispanic and Latino are practically interchangeable in the U.S. When we first started this thread I asked people what these words meant to them and all said they meant about the same and weren't able to express any real difference between the two. No one considered the words to be derogatory.
Vicente, I do apologise if I touched a nerve with my observation. It was unintentional and as mentioned in the last paragraph of my post the observation I made was based on personal experience. As you point out, it is the context, circumstance, qualifying adjective and tone of delivery that determines whether or not the term is intended as a slur.
In any event, whether or not the Hispanic and Latino are construed as derogatory is neither here nor there as the thread was whether they ranked as equivalents in so far as interpretation and meaning. Clearly they are not, though as you point out, the average person in the US appears to have little clue about what lies south of the border, and can presume that they are. It will make little difference to the sense of the translation.
Vicente, I do apologise if I touched a nerve with my observation. It was unintentional and as mentioned in the last paragraph of my post the observation I made was based on personal experience. As you point out, it is the context, circumstance, qualifying adjective and tone of delivery that determines whether or not the term is intended as a slur.
In any event, whether or not Hispanic and Latino are construed as derogatory is neither here nor there as the thread was whether they ranked as equivalents in so far as interpretation and meaning. Clearly they are not, though as you point out, the average person in the US appears to have little clue about what lies south of the border, and can presume that they are. It will make little difference to the sense of the translation.
I took no offense.
As to whether Hispanic and Latino rank as equivalents here are some references.
Source: Dictionary.com
HISPANIC
adjective
1.Spanish.
2.Latin American:
the United States and its Hispanic neighbors.
noun
3.Also, Hispano. Also called Hispanic American. Also called Hispano-American. an American citizen or resident of Spanish or Latin-American descent.
British Dictionary definitions for Hispanic
Hispanic
/hɪˈspænɪk/
adjective
1.relating to, characteristic of, or derived from Spain or Spanish-speaking countries
noun
2.(US) a person of Latin-American or Spanish descent living in the US
Usage note
Specific application to Spanish-speaking parts of the New World is 1889, American English; especially applied since c.1972 to Spanish-speaking persons of Latin American descent living in U.S.
LATINO
noun, plural Latinos.
1.a person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent.
Origin of Latino
Spanish
1945-1950
1945-50, Americanism; < American Spanish, special use of Spanish latino Latin, perhaps by ellipsis from latinoamericano
British Dictionary definitions for Latino
LATINO
noun (pl) -nos
1.(US) an inhabitant of the US who is of Latin American origin
Derived Forms
Latina, noun:feminine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
Word Origin and History for Latino
"male Latin inhabitant of the United States" (fem. Latina), 1946, American English, from American Spanish, shortening of Latinoamericano "Latin-American" (see Latin America). As an adjective, attested from 1974.
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Merriam-Webster
Full Definition of Hispanic
1 : of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain or of Spain and Portugal
2 : of, relating to, or being a person of Latin American descent living in the United States; especially : one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin
Full Definition of Latino
plural Latinos
1 : a native or inhabitant of Latin America
2 : a person of Latin-American origin living in the United States
Origin and Etymology of latino
American Spanish, probably short for latinoamericano Latin American
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Both of these sources say that Hispanic and Latino are American Spanish words. Both say Hispanic and Latino are a person of Latin-American or Spanish descent living in the US; therefore, according to these sources they are equivalent in interpretation and meaning and they are used interchangeably the U.S.
One could argue that Hispanic has a somewhat broader meaning which includes Spanish speaking people outside of Latin America but that is splitting hairs. In the sense that they both refer to a person of Latin American or Spanish-speaking descent they are equal.
For me an Spanic is someone from Spain.. And a Latin is a person from Latin america..
Hi, I am Argentinian and for us it's a geographical thing. Latino would be a person from Latin America and Hispanic comprehends/encloses someone from Latin America and Spain also. You could say too that Hispanic people are those who speaks Spanish.
Hi Vicente. Please let me know if I'm wrong, but I had the opportunity to travel in the US from Florida to Maine and from Vermont to California and in my experience, the average person in US does not make any difference from everything that is south of the Rio Grande.Quote:
Originally Posted by vicente
Hello Santiago
I"m sorry but I do not understand this:
"...the average person in US does not make any difference from everything that is south of the Rio Grande." :confused:
So I'm not sure of what you are saying. Could you clarify.;)
Hi Vicente. Latin America and Caribe is a huge conjunction of cultures and races, but with a common language. People in Mexico is very different to the people in the Rio de la Plata, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela and Peru, for example. We have different cultures, foods, idiom expressions and so on. But for the US people we are all just "latinos". That´s what I mean.
Hi Santiago:)
Well, what you say is true up to a point but it depends on the circumstances. I think people in the U.S. are aware that there a very different cultures in the various Latin American countries. Most people know that Peruvians are different from say, Agentines; however; I think that the average person does not know much about these different cultures and where many countries are geographically located, but then, I imagine that many Latin Americans might have an equally hard time in identifying the various states in the U.S. and possibly think that Brits, Canadians and Americans are all the same; but we too, have different cultures, foods and expressions, even within regions of the U.S.
As for the terms Hispanic and Latino, most people in the U.S. only use those terms to identify people living in the U.S. In that regard, you might be right because, in general, we tend to refer to all Spanish speaking persons in the U.S. as either Hispanic or Latino if we are speaking of them as a whole. However, we are well aware that we have large numbers of Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans and if we're talking about them specifically we refer to them as such.
To put it another way, if a person in the U.S. met you on the street and did not know what country you came from he would most likely say he had met a nice Latino or Hispanic guy. On the other hand, if you told him where you were from he would say "I met this nice guy from Argentina".:D
Hi Vicente,
You are right. I had the chance to travel the US by car some years ago, from Florida to Maine, from Maine to Kansas, then to LA and finally back to Florida. And I noticed that people are really different all over the country. People in Georgia or Louisiana have different culture and expresions from people in New England, or Illinois, or Colorado...
It was a great experience to me.
I have found this chart and think it is quite interesting...
Comparison chart
Hispanic Latino Terminology Hispanic refers to language. Hispanic if you and/or your ancestry come from a country where they speak Spanish. Latino refers to geography. Specifically, to Latin America, to people from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic), South America (Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, etc.) and Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, etc.) In the U.S. Was first adopted by the United States government during the administration of Richard Nixon It has been used in the U.S. Census since 1980. "Hispanic" is used more often in states such as Florida and Texas. The government adopted these terms because they did not have an inclusive term to identify and segregate the mixed white with black and native "mestizo or mulato people of Central and South America. Derived from The term "Hispanic" comes from a Latin word for Spain "Hispania", which later became "España". It refers to a person of Latin American or Iberian ancestry, fluent in Spanish. The term "Latino" is shortened from Spanish latino americano, "Latin American" thus narrowing the scope of meaning to Central and South America, and Spanish speaking Carribean Islands. Usage "Hispanic" is primarily used along the Eastern seaboard, and favored by those of Caribbean and South American ancestry or origin. “Latino” is principally used west of the Mississippi, where it has displaced “Chicano” and “Mexican American.”
I'm amazed how the different States in the US managed to differ form each other, even on idiomatic expressions. They are like mini-countrys.
Hi Maximiliano.::D
I'm not sure I agree with the chart because I live in Texas and I hear both terms used regularly. The main trouble I have with such a generalization is that this is a very mobile society and we have constant movement of people from east to west, west to east, north to south, etc.,. If a person lives in on the Eastern seaboard and moves west of the Mississippi does he change the way he uses the terms?:confused:
Hi Santiago:D I find that Hispanics also have different ways of referring to so-called "white people". In my area they refer to them as "gavacho", "huero", gringo", "anglo" and rarely "caucasian". There are probably others that I haven't heard yet:p
Quote:
Originally Posted by matiasc
It's true Matias. The Deep South states like Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc., are a world apart from northern states. In my opinion, there are essentially 8 distinctly different areas in the U.S. with different cultures. The New England states, the New York/New Jersey/Philidelphia area, the Deep South, the Mid-west, the Southwest with Mexican border states, the West, the Northwest. California, especially Southern California and South Florida, mainly Miami, have their own cultures.