Several years ago, Latino and Hispanic organizations held a conference to discuss the spectrum of individuals moving into the Birmingham area that fit the definition of Latino or Hispanic. They had moved to Alabama from Latin American countries and from different parts of the U.S. Some were native Spanish speakers, some spoke indigenous languages, others spoke English and some spoke several languages. The opinions about the terms were as diverse as the people at the conference. An article in the Boston Globe captures the debate about the terms. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/01/25/latino_hispanic_which_is_it/.
Because a number of people work in situations where they have to give statistics, they need to know what term to use. I try to encourage them to use the terms that the federal government requires for statistical purposes, but they should understand that individuals and groups of individuals do not necessarily agree with these terms. If at all possible, take the time to build a relationship and understand what an individual prefers to be called which is probably just his or her name. On the other hand, understand that sometimes people live by cultural norms and similarities that extend beyond the individual. At times they may be linked to a group. This does not mean that we should stereotype people or hold them to fixed concepts, but understand and value the uniqueness that they bring into our lives and workplaces.
Hi Bettina,
ReplyDeleteComments? At one time, the two terms were pretty distinct. "Hispanic" was used on the West Coast and generally related to Mexican culture, but generally also included (inaccurately and a-historically) indigenous Mexican and Central American cultures. [Mexico alone formally recognizes 16 official languages.] "Latino" was used on the East Coast and generally related to Caribbean [especially Puerto Rican] and Central/South American Spanish-speaking culture. Academics and cultural advocates generally confused the issue after the 1960s by trying to apply more rigid definitions and/or by seeking a common term that was applied to all the above. Changes in migration patterns also introduced more Mexicans to Florida, the Southeast, and the East Coast. HICA locally further confuses the issue by defining "Latino" as all speakers of languages descended from Latin, which includes Romanians and Francophone Africans who no one except perhaps the most rigid linguistic historian would consider Latino. Brazilians generally bridle at being called Hispanic, as do some other Portuguese speaking communities. We're probably better off simply leaving the terms unclear and confusing, since every time we talk about them it reintroduces us to the fact that Latino/Hispanic culture is far more complex and inclusive than popular culture believes and that either term alone would suggest.
The pluralized term "Latino" encompasses culture, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity and language. The term Hispanic only refers to Spanish influence and language embedded in our culture and excludes all other characteristics. Therefore, the word Latino is best when used in the United States, especially among the US born.
ReplyDeleteI am actually writing an article about this subject to post on my blog in a couple of days. Feel free to visit http://americanlatino.com/blog
For years there has been a lot of debate regarding which is the politically correct term. I use the terms interchangeably. Here is what I wrote in my blog (www.LatinoOpinion.com) regarding this subject:
ReplyDeleteThe term Hispanic as it is used in the United States was introduced to classify a group of people that we had difficulty classifying otherwise. It started appearing in the U.S. census and other government forms in the 1960s and was picked up by researchers as a standard demographic characteristic. Businesses also began to refer to the Latino consumers target as the “Hispanic market.” In contrast, the term Latino has different roots. In Spanish we have always used the term to describe an individual from “Latin America” and it is a commonly used Spanish word worldwide.
I like using the term Hispanic in business because I feel that it more clearly identifies the Latino consumers who live in the United States. In fact, I often say that there are no Hispanics outside of the United States. In Mexico there are Mexicans, in Puerto Rico there are Puerto Ricans, and in Cuba, well… Cubans, you get my drift. But in this country Latin Americans are very often classified as Hispanics. I learned to be Hispanic in the United States!
For the full blog post including other comments please see http://www.latinoopinion.com/2009/03/hispanic-or-latino/
Two other related blog posts can be found here:
http://www.latinoopinion.com/2009/03/we-are-hispanics-we-are-latinos-we-are-americans/
http://www.latinoopinion.com/2009/03/lets-stop-segmenting-people-by-race/