In the United States, the Italian word Latino (and sometimes its feminine form Latina) refers to a person of Latin American, especially Hispanic heritage.[1]
The Italian adjective latino (feminine: latina) directly translates to English as Latin. Since early Italian days, the word has become common usage in other languages as well. The dictionary of the Real Academia Española defines 7 senses for the term, which can refer to Lazio in Italy, the Latin language, any of the world's Romance languages spoken in Europe or America, or speakers of these languages.[2] It is also worth mention that in Spanish, these terms are by convention not capitalized as they are in English (the exception is Latina when referring to Latina, Italy).
The English language does not use the suffixes -a or -o to distinguish from male or female forms; many English speakers will say Latino even when referring to a woman. However, some speakers will use the phrase Latina as well. The Spanish phrase latinoamericano or Portuguese latino-americano is translated as Latin American in English, and most often refers to natives and descendents of Latin America. Its usual connotation is Ibero-American or Spanish 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 Latin-speaking peoples, as opposed to the Germanic language-speaking countries of "Anglo-America".
Use in Latin America
In Latin America, the term latino is generally used for people of Latin-speaking cultures, from both Old and New Worlds. Most people in Latin America consider "Latino" to be a cultural or a lifestyle and to some degree, a racial term. Many Latin Americans therefore describe themselves as "Latino" whether they are of white (Spanish or Porteguese), black, Amerindian or mixed descent thereof. Latino normally is considered to mean a common Spanish cultural heritage and the Spanish people of Spain are included in the definition. However, the related term Ladino in Central America has connotations of class and sometimes race.
Usage in the United States
In the United States, the term "Latino" refers loosely to any person having Latin American background and living in the U.S, and is often taken to be a synonym with "Hispanic". However, while the term Hispanic has its origins in the census bureau in the 1970s, activists within communities of Latin Americans and of Latin American descent have often preferred the term Latino because it is thought to be more inclusive of the broad range of peoples in the Americas and less derivative of Spain. It is typically contrasted with Anglo-American and African-American. The term "Latino" may have racial connotations which are absent in Latin America.
In the U.S. setting, the term "Latino" is sometimes applied to immigrants from Hispanophone countries in North, Central and South America and their descendants. Brazilians are sometimes categorized as Latino, and sometimes self-categorize as such. Community activists often define "Latino" as encompassing Latin American immigrants only, thus excluding the Spanish immigrants in the U.S. The U.S. inhabitants having a background in countries of the Western Hemisphere where other Romance languages are widespread (such as Aruba or Haiti are usually thought of as "Caribbean" more than "Latino". Inhabitants of French Guiana and the French West Indies, for example, are typically thought to have more in common culturally with English-speaking West Indians than they do with residents of Mexico and Central and South America.
Criticism of the United States usage
It is debated as to whether the word Latino is a proper label for the people living in the Americas. The term is meant to evoke geographical and historical commonality of Latin American peoples, whose history is shaped by policies like the Monroe Doctrine. However, a racial or linguistic definition of "Latino" might exclude millions of descendants of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
The heavy promotion of the term "Latino" by European- and African-descended Cubans in Miami to apply to the much larger Mexican population that is largely indigenous has also fueled critiques of the term as it is currently applied. The media application of the term "Latino" in conjunction with non-Latino indigenous images (such as Aztec and Mayan pyramids) also stirs debate about an "umbrella" term encompassing people of distinct races and civilizations.
See also
- Afro-Latino
- Ancient Rome
- Asian Latino
- Boricua
- Brasil
- Chicano
- Filipino
- France
- Hispania
- Hispanic
- Hispanic America
- Ibero-American
- Isleños
- Italy
- La raza
- Latin Europe
- Latin rap
- Latin Union
- List of U.S. cities with Hispanic majority populations
- Lusitanic
- Mexica Movement
- Mexican American
- Mestizo
- Mestiço
- Mezzogiorno
- Moors
- Mulatto
- Portugal
- Portuguese
- Portuguese American
- Romania
- Spain
- Spanish
External links
- "The Idea of Latin America" A new book that traces the modern origins of the term "Latino" to French colonists in the caribbean.
- A Brazilian Outpost in Westchester County - New York Times "quietly lobbying Westchester County officials to change the name of the Office for Hispanic Affairs to the Office for Latino Affairs. (Since Brazil was colonized by Portugal, the word "Hispanic," denoting Spanish heritage, does not apply to Brazilians.)"