Is It True That Latinos Are Not Spanish?

Question

My cousin came in from Spain recently and he was at the house when some of my friends were there. We got into a discussion when one kid asked another girl what she was and she answered that she was Spanish.

We didn't really get into an argument but my cousin said that she is not Spanish and that he is. He said that he is from Spain, which are called Spaniards, and that she is from Latin America which would be called Latino or Latin American. He said that they speak Spanish but they are not Spanish.

Is my cousi right about this. People from the Islands and Central America are not Spanish; it's only the Europeans from Spain?

Answer 1

I think the word you're looking for here is Hispanic.  They are all Hispanic of Spanish roots.

Answer 2

Technically, Latin refers to people who speak a Romance language, which includes Spanish, French, and Romanian. However, Latin America was a phrase coined by the French, in reference to the French Colonies in America. From that point forward, Latin America generally referred to Mexico, Central and South America, and their respective inhabitants were referred to as Latin Americans, or Latins for short (latinos in Spanish).

So, the quick answer is that Spaniards are Latin, in the purest, academic original meaning, but they are not Latin American (or Latin in the more recent meaning of the word.).

Answer 3

Yes, it is true. We are Latinos. At least it is what we call ourselves in Costa Rica (Central America). Well, actually we are called costarricenses o ticos. But in general, we are latinos. We do talk spanish, and by the way I think our spanish and the one from Colombia have the best pronunciation. We talk Spanish, because Spain conquered America back in the days. But we got our independence in 1812 - most central american countries and Mexico.

So, I think it is true.

Answer 4

Yes, your cousin is correct. Spanish people come from Spain. Even if they are from central and south America they may or may not even be of partial Spanish descent. Only people from Spain can really claim to be Spanish.

Answer 5

If she or her parents are not from spain then she is not spanish

Answer 6

Logically and realistically speaking, this is true.

This is not to say, however, that the majority of Latinos don't have Spanish roots.

Edit: Dumb it down for the thumbs-down... IT MEANS THAT MOST LATINOS HAVE SPANISH ROOTS. My grammar is wasted on you people.

Answer 7

Yes, your cousin is right. Most spanish speaking people are not spanish. You are only Spanish if you come from spain. Latin Americans are Latinos, Mexicans are mexicans, etc. For example, Brazilians are latin americans, but they dont' even speak spanish, they speak Potuguese primarily. So, don't make the mistake of calling a mexican or domincan, puerto rican, etc spanish, they are not spanish, they only speak spanish.

Answer 8

They are of Spanish and Native descent, the early Spaniards really got around,

Depending upon the place, there may be other genetic influences, too. such as African, or Portuguese.

These days, there is hardly any Pure blood any more. Even real Spaniards, have mixed blood, Italian, French,Arabic. whoever has traveled there

Answer 9

yeah its true.

spanish = from spain

hispanic= latino = that they are spanish speaking but not necessarily from spain.  

Answer 10

Correct.

Answer 11

Some people are from spain, and say they are spanish

and other people are from , for examle from Mexio and say they are spanish

Answer 12

Sure, a peurto rican or cuban may speak the spanish language but they are not spanish...they are what they are.

Answer 13

Of course your cousin's right. The Spanish are European citizens from Spain. Latinos is a term applied in the US to peopl from Latin American countries, people who speak Spanish but aren't from Spain and may even not have that many Spanish blood in them compared to black or native blood. It's like, for example I'm Portuguese and I'd be very surprised if a Brazilian called himself a Portuguese. Look at it this way: I'm of totally European descent. Brazilians are a mix of many peoples and they may and may not have Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, black, native american, etc., blood in them.

Answer 14

this is true. if you are from mexico your mexican. etc i hate generlized terms for race. like asian. your korean etc.

Answer 15

Yes people who are Latin are from Latin America and people who are Spanish are from Spain.

Answer 16

Yes because they are not from spain.

Answer 17

The Spanish have a tradition of labels. In the old days, the 1500s, status was determined by where you were born and where your ancestors were born.  First were the peninsulares because they were born in Spain. So in this sense, she would be Latino or Latin American.  

interesting reading about it here:

http://www.lasculturas.com/aa/aa070501a....

Answer 18

Spain Spanish, England, English, Finland Finns,

you see how it works? A people's spoken language does not necessarily reflect their ethnicity or race. Europe colonized large portions of the world so chunks of the mother culture are left behind. Latin America is  referred to because Spanish, Portuguese and French are the main languages spoken there, and they are Latin based tongues. I know these days people are not very educated on how to refer to people, so good for you for asking.

Answer 19

I don't know why some people are so picky about these terms. I'm Puerto Rican but I'm still considered Spanish or Latina.

I'm not sure why they call us Latino/na considering we don't speak Latin.

Answer 20

Yes your cousin is right.

Just like you speak English, but your not English, from England, are you!

Or Brazilians speak Portuguese, but they're not Portuguese!

Answer 21

It is true. 'Latino' is the preferred term. 'Hispanic' better describes someone who speaks Spanish as their first language.

FYI: Not all people from Central America speak Spanish. Brazilians speak Portuguese. If you ask a Brazilian to describe themselves, they probably won't say that they are Latino (althought they wouldn't be offended if you called them Latino.) They are South American, or just BRAZILIAN!

Answer 22

He may be right, but we kind of took over the term "spanish"..

like we eat spanish food, doesn't mean it's from spain..   we speak spanish.. though there are so many dielects, so it dosen't mean it came from spain...  

the trend is moving to use Latino ...  or my name would have been "spanish G"  lol

But i'm spanish even though I didn't come from spain.. he's a Spaniard, and they don't like us on this side anyway.   so s***w him  : )  

Answer 23

your cousin is right alot of times latinos dont even have spanish blood in them. they just speak spanish.

ex:

that is like an american saying im english because of the language we speak in fact there are not alot of americans with english blood.

Answer 24

yes your cousin is right. it bothers me when peopel clasify south americans as spanish, although i have nothing agisnt them, i have many peruvian and ecuadorian friends.

they are not latinos either. Latinos are southern europeans who speak any latin language like portuguese spanish, and italian.  

Answer 25

Your language is a major part of your culture but that does not link you directly to that country (or all English -speaking people would regard themselves as English!)

Answer 26

I am an American.  My ancestors are German.  Same applies to the Latinos.  They are the nationality of the country of their birth.