Some native Spanish speakers prefer the term Hispanic, while others adamantly insist on Latino. The hosts discuss the origins of these words, and a bit about the controversy over their use. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Hispanic vs. Latino”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Terry Jacobs calling from Milwaukee, and I had a question about the word Latino. I was wondering if you could comment about the derivation of where the word came from, referring to people of Latin American descent. It seems to me that the word Latin might have come from Italy, but obviously this is Hispanic-related Latino phrasing. Do you have any insight on that?
Yeah. As far as we know, it’s probably a shortening of Latino Americano, which is somebody from Latin America. Are you asking for a particular…
Well, the question is, the word Latin refers to a place in Italy, and where Latin America, even for that matter, why did it acquire the name Latin America? Why did it acquire the name Latin America?
Well, first of all, you’re right. People from Italy can be said to be Latin, as well as people from Portugal, Spain, and France, because all of these countries speak languages derived from Latin. That’s where describing them as Latin comes from. And, Martha, that’s the same for Latin America, too. It’s about the language and the heritage that goes along with that language, right?
Right, the linguistic heritage, yeah. Okay, so it’s from the language that we all share as a romance language.
Well, the Latin-based languages, that’s right, exactly. Right. So does that help? Is that what you want to say?
Yeah, that’s great. Okay, thanks again for being there for us.
You’re welcome. Thank you for calling today, Terry. Take care.
All righty. Bye-bye.
You know, Grant, more and more you hear the term Latino used as a kind of term of ethnic pride versus Hispanic. You know, Hispanic is more of the overarching word that refers to anybody who speaks Spanish as a native language, whether they’re from the Americas or from Spain. But Latino refers specifically to people from Latin America.
And there are a lot of people, especially here in California, who prefer the term Latino as opposed to Hispanic, partly because of grammar, partly because it’s more like Spanish, because you can describe somebody as a Latino if he’s male or a Latina if the person is female.
Right. But it’s interesting because it’s a little tricky in that in places like, say, Miami or Texas, you’re going to find people using the term Hispanic more than Latino. There’s definitely regional centralization on these terms, right? And some of it even boils down to individual personal preference.
Right, exactly. I mean, I’ve talked to plenty of people from Latin America who are fine with either Latino or Hispanic. I know we’re going to hear about this from our listeners, especially here in San Diego. But, you know, another thing that I was thinking about along those lines is the fact that I know plenty of people from Latin America who say, why use those terms at all? I mean, I’m from Argentina. Argentina’s different from Bolivia. Don’t just paint us with a broad brush.
Right. It’s very similar to saying, oh, he was an African man. You’re like, wait a second. Africa is a really big continent.
Exactly. Was he from Congo or Angola? There’s a big difference between those countries.
Exactly. Well, if you have a question about language for us, llámanos. The number is 1-877-929-9673. That’s 1-877-WAYWORD. Or send your preguntas to words@waywordradio.org.
