Hispanic vs. Latino

 

Hispanic vs. Latino

While Hispanic usually refers to people with a background in a Spanish-speaking country, Latino is typically used to identify people who hail from Latin America.

The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" refer to ethnicity, culture, and identity. They are groups based on shared culture rather than skin color, race, or other physical features. However, the groups are also broader than ethnicity, which can make the terms complex.

Hispanic refers to people who speak Spanish or who have a background in a Spanish-speaking country. In other words, Hispanic refers to the language that a person speaks or that their ancestors spoke. Some Hispanic people speak Spanish, but others don't.

For this reason, people who are Hispanic may vary in their race and also where they live or originate. For example, a person from the Dominican Republic and a person from Mexico might both call themselves Hispanic because they share in common a spoken language and a legacy of Spanish colonies.

Latino refers to geography: specifically, people from Latin America including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Like being Hispanic, being Latino says nothing about your race; Latinos may be White, Black, Indigenous, Asian, etc.

People in the Caribbean sometimes identify as Latino and sometimes do not. 

For example, the majority of Haitians do not identify as Latino despite being part of Latin America. Jamaica, an English-speaking nation, isn’t always included as being part of Latin America either, and Jamaicans do not tend to identify as Latino. 

A person from Spain would be Hispanic but not Latino because Spain is a Spanish-speaking country but not a Latin American country.

A person who is Latino may also be Hispanic, or not. For instance, while people from Brazil are considered Latino (because Brazil is a Latin American country), they are not considered Hispanic because Brazil is a former Portuguese colony, not a Spanish one.

There are also differences in usage of the terms Hispanic and Latino by geographical region. While urban areas and those on the coasts tend to prefer Latino, rural areas in places like Texas and New Mexico are more likely to use the term Hispanic.

However, there are exceptions (of course!). For example, the word Hispanic is generally preferred and more widely used in Florida.

Mexican refers to people who inhabit for are from Mexico, a part of Latin America. Spanish is the main language in Mexico, but not all Mexicans speak the language. This means that people from Mexico are Latino, and they may or may not be Hispanic.

Based on this information . . . 

1) Are people from Brazil 

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither

2) Are people from Spain

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither

3) Are people from Columbia

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither

4) Are people from Texas who are native Spanish speakers

   

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither  

5) Are English speakers whose parents are from Bolivia

   

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither 

6) Are people from Haiti 

   

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither 

7) In Florida which term is usually preferred?   

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither 

8) People from Mexico are definitely

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither 

9) People from Mexico are not ALWAYS

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither 

10) Which word applies specifically to geography?

   a) Hispanic

   b) Latino

   c) Both

   d) Neither