Latino

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The word Latino and its feminine form Latina derive from the Latin adjectives latinus (genitive latini), latina (genitive latinae), originally referring to Latium, the area of Rome, by aitiology derived from a king of the name Latinus.

The term should not be confused with Ladino (the Spanish-based language traditionally spoken by Sephardic Jews) or Ladin (a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in the Italian Alps), even though the origin for all three names is the same.

1 Usage in the United States
- 1.1 Criticism of the United States usage
  - 1.1.1 Eurocentric Labeling
2 Use in Latin America
3 See also
4 External links

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Usage in the United States

In the United States of America, the term Latino refers loosely to any person having Latin American background and living in the U.S. It is typically contrasted with Anglo-American and/or African-American in common speech. More widely it is used to denote anyone who speaks (or whose national or ethnic origin is traditionally associated with) the languages derived from Latin. This meaning, however, is very uncommon for the usage in the U.S. , since it is generally thought to refer specifically to Latin America, and not to Latin or Latium (as is the case elsewhere).

In the U.S. setting, most frequently the term Latino is applied exclusively to immigrants from Hispanophone countries in North, Central and South America and their descendants. This widespread meaning has gone into common usage, but remains problematic. Some define Latino as encompassing Latin American immigrants only, thus excluding the Spanish people in the U.S. but includes the Spanish people in Latin America. The U.S. inhabitants having a background in countries of the Western Hemisphere where other languages derived from Latin are widespread (such as Aruba, Brazil, Canada or Haiti where Papiamento, Portuguese, French and Kreyol are spoken) are usually not considered to be "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. Conversely, an immigrant from Latin America whose background(s) is/are entirely British and/or other non-Spanish, would most likely be considered Latino by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Criticism of the United States usage

The word Latino is debated as to whether it is profoundly an appropriate label for the people living in the Americas including the United States. Controversy surrounds the usage since it implies a mirroring of Europe Latin area (see Latin Europe) in the Americas, which never took place (aside of Portugal and Spain Latin Europe includes many other countries that have no role in Latin America). Moreover in doing so, it has excluded millions of indigenous descendants (many of whom speak a native language) that are very much grounded in what is called the Americas. Thus the critique of the word falls on the exclusion of others and/or perpetuating a homogeneity of one race in the Americas. The exclusion falls on the indigenous societies and the seized populations of Africa.

Recently, Mexican-descent organizations such as the Mexica Movement [1] have challenged the legitimacy of the term of "Latino" (which means Latin in the Italian language) on the grounds of its non-applicability to people who are non-European. This is somewhat ironic considering that a non-European Mexican, Benito Juàrez, borrowed the idea of having a "Latin America" from the French after the defeat of a French army on May 5, 1862. Since the term Latino refers to Latin Europe and its descendents, people of American indigenous descent are necessarily excluded from such a term. The heavy promotion of the term Latino by European-descent Cubans in Miami onto the much larger Mexican population that is non-European, has fueled sharp critiques of the term as it is currently applied. Given that approximately 10% of Mexico's population continues to speak an indigenous language as its mother tongue, the Latino moniker is especially problematic. The media application of the term "Latino" in conjunction with non-Latino patrimony images (such as Aztec and Mayan pyramids) promises to stir debate about an "umbrella" term encompassing people of separate races and separate civilizations.

Critics further point out that Native Americans primarily speak English but are never referred to as Anglos or as "Britannic." Latino, they assert, is likewise non-applicable as an identity to people of indigenous stock (full-blood and mixed-blood) in other regions of the same continent.

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Eurocentric Labeling

One vociferous critic of the Latino label has been the Mexica Movement (see external links below), an Indigenous rights and education organization. Their central criticism of the label "Latino" is that its rationale is Eurocentric and inconsistent with the rationale for labeling other groups, for example:

Filipinos, who were also colonized by the Spanish for centuries and bear many traces of Spanish culture, but are not labeled as "Latino";
Native Americans, most of whom share European bloodlines and speak English, but are not labeled "Britannic" or "Anglo";
African-Americans, who also share some bloodlines with Europeans, speak the English language, have British names, but are not labeled as "Britannic" or "Anglo."
the Métis of Canada, who are mixed-blood Indigenous people (recognized as Aboriginal People under Canadian law), despite speaking English and French as their main languages;
and Mexican-Americans and Chicanos, most of whom speak English as a first language (or in many cases, their only language), yet are still labeled as "Latinos."

The Mexica Movement asserts that people of Mexican and Central American descent are in fact mixed-blood and full-blooded Indigenous-descent people (like Native Americans and the Métis of Canada) who have been made to speak a European language as a conseqence of European colonization commencing in 1492. The organization has popularized the slogan "Not Hispanic! Not Latino!" through a t-shirt line of clothing and self-published materials, and the message seems to have made inroads among many urban youths of Mexican and Central American descent.

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Use in Latin America

Most people in Latin America (excluding Brazil), consider "Latino" to be a cultural rather than a racial term. Many Latin Americans therefore describe themselves as "Latino" whether they are of Asian, white, black, or mixed descent.

The modern term was introduced by the French in the 1800's. The French, as descendents of the Romans (Latins), wanted to distinguish themselves from "Anglo America". They used the term "Latine Amerique" ("Latin America"). The White elites of the French colonies employed the term first, and soon the Italian words "Latino" and "America" combined ("Latinoamericano") became popular among European elites in other European colonies of the Western Hemisphere, as well.

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