Thread: Latino vs Hispanic

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?

Thanks Daniel!

Originally Posted by Gavin Edward

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.

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.

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..