Latino (demonym)

This article deals with the English term Latino as used in English-speaking nations. It should not be confused with its homographs in other languages and their usages therein, for which their respective dictionaries and Wikipedias should be consulted.

For the singer known as Latino, see Latino (singer).

The term Latino (Latina for females), as used in English-speaking countries, is applied to persons of Latin American descent.

Etymology

Latino is borrowed from Spanish latino, shortened from latinoamericano.(wikt:latino, m-w) The English language does not usually distinguish between the male and female genders of the word in Spanish.

Usage in the United States

Since 2003, the official definition and usage of the term by the Federal Government is strictly as an ethnic identifier, synonymous with the term Hispanic.^[1]

In common usage, Latino usually refers to person having Latin American background. The term is often used as a racial or ethnic label.^[2]^[3] Latino is sometimes used interchangeably with the following terms:^[2]

Latin

Latin most properly refers to the Latin peoples (Romance-speaking Europeans) and those tracing most of their ancestry to them.

The term Latin is sometimes synonymous with Latino or Latin American ([1]), e.g. Latin jazz, Latin music. The Latin Grammy Awards is an event in which many Latins, including Brazilians and Spaniards, Puerto Ricans, etc, participate.

Latin American

A Latin American is a national of a Latin American country.

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: ^[4]

Spanish speakers and persons belonging to a household where the head of household was a Spanish speaker
Persons with Spanish heritage by birth location or surname
Persons who self-identified Spanish origin or descent

Affirmation of the term

Activist groups in the U.S. such as MEChA, Crusade for Justice, Brown Berets, Black Berets, and the Young Lords often prefer the term Latino because they felt it is more inclusive of the broad range of peoples of Latin American origin.^{[citation needed]}

Rejection of the term

Groups such as the Mexica Movement reject the term Latino and describe it as a racist term that denies indigenous identities. The group states that Latino falsely lumps together people of different races merely because their ancestors were colonized by Spanish Europeans.^[5]

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, as well as a member of any of the modern European Romance-speaking nations or peoples (Latin peoples).

It must be emphasized that "Latino" in English and "Latino/latino" in other languages, though related, have different meanings and are of course different words. The Spanish adjective latino (feminine: latina) directly translates to English as "Latin", not "Latino". The dictionary of the Real Academia Española defines ten meanings for latino, which can refer to Lazio in Italy, the Latin language, and any of the Romance-speaking countries and peoples in Europe or America (Latin America).[2] Spaniards view themselves as being Latins, the same as Italians, Romanians, French, and the Portuguese. It is also worth mentioning that in Spanish, latino, just like any other gentilic, is by convention not capitalized as it is in English.

Most people in Latin America consider Latinness 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).

References

^ "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity". Retrieved 2007-03-18. OMB does not accept the recommendation to retain the single term "Hispanic." Instead, OMB has decided that the term should be "Hispanic or Latino." ... The provisions of these standards are effective immediately for all new and revised record keeping or reporting requirements that include racial and/or ethnic information. All existing record keeping or reporting requirements shall be made consistent with these standards at the time they are submitted for extension, or not later than January 1, 2003.
^ ^a ^b Oboler, Suzanne. Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives: Identity and the Politics of (Re) Presentation. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
^ Alcoff, Linda Martín. Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
^ Gibson, Campbell (2002). "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". Working Paper Series No. 56. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ Tezcatlipoca, Olin (2003-08-13). "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". Retrieved 2007-03-18.

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

[omb-1] "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity". Retrieved 2007-03-18. OMB does not accept the recommendation to retain the single term "Hispanic." Instead, OMB has decided that the term should be "Hispanic or Latino." ... The provisions of these standards are effective immediately for all new and revised record keeping or reporting requirements that include racial and/or ethnic information. All existing record keeping or reporting requirements shall be made consistent with these standards at the time they are submitted for extension, or not later than January 1, 2003.

[oboler-2] Oboler, Suzanne. Ethnic Labels, Latino Lives: Identity and the Politics of (Re) Presentation. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[alcoff-3] Alcoff, Linda Martín. Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self. Retrieved 2007-03-18.

[historical_census-4] Gibson, Campbell (2002). "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". Working Paper Series No. 56. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[mexica_movement-5] Tezcatlipoca, Olin (2003-08-13). "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". Retrieved 2007-03-18.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]