“Don’t call me High-Spanic”, proclaims a web site run by a person of Latin American descent. For many who share that ethnicity, the only acceptable term is Latino (for men) or Latina (for women).
Why should “Hispanic” be insulting? After all, it is used by no less prestigious an agency than the U.S. Census Bureau. But many Latinos consider it an ugly word invented by English-speakers to talk about aliens.
It has a pseudoscientific English word ending: “-ic,” as in “metric system” or “sulfuric acid.” In contrast, “Latino” is a real Spanish word that Latin Americans use to describe themselves. Left-wing Latinos tend to be especially annoyed by “Hispanic.”
However, “Hispanic” has a lot of champions. They argue that “Hispanic,” like “Latino,” is based on a real Spanish word, hispano, which can mean either Hispanic or Spanish. True, the word ending is English, but why shouldn’t an English word have an English ending? A German American doesn’t usually complain because Americans don’t call him “Deutsch.”
Some people say “Hispanic” is misleading because it derives from the Latin word for Spain, rather than referring directly to Latin America. But “Latino,” in its essence, refers to the Latin language of the Romans who conquered Spain, which has even less to do with Latin America.
Despite the controversy, either term is acceptable in polite speech, and both are used interchangeably.
Related Posts
-
Why do Hispanics call themselves la raza if Hispanics are not a race?
Spanish for "race," the term la raza was first popularized by Chicano political activists in the 1960s. Used originally to refer to people of Mexican descent, it is now accepted by many other…
-
Why Don’t People Wake Themselves Up When They Snore and Do People Who Snore Know They’re Snoring?
A vast majority of snorers are in fact men, and may be waking up hundreds of times a night without remembering it in the morning. Snoring in its worst form is a symptom…
-
Who was the first Latino to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?
The first Latino to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame was Roberto Clemente, perhaps the best known of all Puerto Rican athletes. Born in Puerto Rico in 1934, he played for…
-
What is the link between machismo and Latino culture and What does Hasta la Vista mean?
The link between machismo and Latino culture is strong. It is so strong that Anglos who would like to seem tough often try to identify themselves with Hispanic culture. Nowhere is this more…
-
Who was the first Latino Astronaut in Space to fly aboard the space shuttle?
The first Latino astronaut was Costa Rican born Franklin Chang Diaz (1950- ). A physicist who specializes in plasma rockets, he became an astronaut in 1981 and first flew aboard the space shuttle…
-
Who was the first Latino to break into major league baseball?
The first Latino to break into major league baseball was Esteban Bellan in 1871. But Hispanics did not become a major force in baseball until after 1947, when Jackie Robinson made it possible…
