Hispanic

Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize U.S. immigrants whose cultural, linguistic or genetic background is either from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or the original settlers of the traditionally Spanish-held Southwestern United States. The term is used as a broad form of classification in the U.S. census, local and federal employment, and numerous business market researches.

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History of its U.S. and Latin-American usage

The usage of term Hispanic in the United States is believed to have come into mainstream prominence following its inclusion in a question in the 1980 U.S. Census, which asked people to voluntarily identify if they were of "Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent". However, the Spanish language equivalent of the term Hispanic (Hispano) has been in use since much earlier than in the U.S.

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In Latin America, although the term "Hispano" (Hispanic) is not as often used on the popular level in public discourse as a generalized ethnic label, an Hispano is commonly regarded to be any person whose ancestry and practiced culture both stem — whether in whole or in part — from the people and culture of Spain and to the contrast of the non-Hispanic populations of Latin America. Thus in the Latin American context, when speaking of any given nation's Hispanic population, those who are implied include creoles, mestizos, and mulattos, and excludes indigenous Native Americans, the unmixed descendants of black African slaves, as well as excluding all other recent immigrants of various other races and nationalities now residing in Latin America. Also disregarded is whether or not those excluded groups now use Spanish as their first and only language — as is the case with all Blacks, most Native Americans and many recent immigrants.

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This Latin-American use of the term is more so evident in addresses regarding affairs of indigenous and African descended peoples made by government and minority agencies, where the creole, mestizo, and mulatto collective majority and their culture, which is accredited as the national identity, is distinguished as Hispanic for purposes of contrast to the plight of national minorities.

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Synonyms and antonyms

Often the term "Hispanic" is used synonymously with the word "Latino", and frequently with "Latin" as well. Even though the terms may sometimes overlap in meaning, they are not completely synonymous.

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"Latin", when not refering directly and exclusively to the inhabitants of Ancient Rome, refers to any of the people related to, or descended from, the original Latin-speaking Romans, and includes all the Romance language-speaking European nationalities, or European Latin peoples (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium Wallonia, Italy, Italian and French Switzerland, Romania, and Moldova), including their cultures, and their descendants worldwide. As it is patent, the main criterion here is a linguistic one, since all the nationalities and cultures do not constitute an homogenous entity.

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"Hispanic", on the other hand, specifically refers to Spain or to the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas as cultural and demographic extensions of Spain.

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Meanwhile, Latinos are only those from the countries of Latin America, whether Spanish or Portuguese-speaking (though, in this case, not so frequently and with some ambiguities).

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These definitions are not consensual, though, since many define Hispanic and Latino as synonomous, and often restrict their use to Spanish-speaking Latin-Americans. One should also note that these definitions are primarily used in the United States and have very different meanings, or none at all, for the people they are applied to (to the point that they might be considered negative or derogatory by many).

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The confusion that arises is from the similarity between the words Latino and Latin, and between the concept of Hispanic and Latino. Latino is a shortened version of the Spanish noun latinoamericano and is used for the inhabitants of Latinoam?rica (Latin America). In the Spanish language "Lat?n" (Latin) is the name of the language of the Romans, and as such is not confined solely to Hispanics and Latinos.

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Thus, of a group consisting of a Brazilian, a Colombian, a Mexican, a Spaniard, and a Romanian; the Brazilian, Colombian, and Mexican would all be Latinos, but not the Spaniard or the Romanian, since neither Spain nor Romania are geographically situated in Latin America. Conversely, the Colombian, Mexican and Spaniard would all be Hispanics, but not the Brazilian or the Romanian, since Brazil was conquered and founded by the Portuguese, and neither Portugal or Romania are extensions of Spain. The one exception for a Brazilian to be considered Hispanic is if his ancestry was Spanish. Finally, all of the above nationalities would all be Latin, including the Romanian.

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This example, however, disregards the influence of African and Native American elements in the cultures and ethnic origin of most Latin-Americans, and tends to homogenize what constitutes, in fact, a world of social, cultural, ethnic and racial diversity. Along the same lines, one should note that the term Latino is never, or very rarely, applied to French-speaking Qu?b?cois of Canada or to a Portuguese-speaking African Angolan. The categories of "Latino" and "Hispanic" are used primarily in the United States to socially differentiate people. As social categories they are not mutually exclusive and without ambiguities and cannot be seen as independent of social discrimination (socio-economic, ethnic or racial).

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Aside from "Hispanic", "Latino", and "Latin", other terms are used for more specific subsets of the Hispanic population. These terms often relate to specific countries of origin, such as "Mexican", "Mexican-American", "Cuban", "Puerto Rican" or "Dominican", etc. Other terms signify distinct cultural patterns among Hispanics which have emerged in what is now the United States, including "Chicano", "Tejano", "Nuyorican", etc.

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On its use as an ethnic identifier

In the U.S. some people consider "Hispanic" to be too general as a label, while others consider it offensive, often preferring to use the term "Latino", which is viewed as a self-chosen label. The preference of "Latino" over "Hispanic" is partly because it more clearly indicates that those it is referring to are the people from Latin America, and not Spain. Different labels prevail in different regions, as well. In places like Arizona and California, the Chicanos are proud of their personal association and their participation in the agricultural movement of the 1960s with C?sar Ch?vez, that brought attention to the needs of the farm workers.

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Previously Hispanics were commonly referred to as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". These terms, however, proved even more misleading or inaccurate since:

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• most U.S. Hispanics were not born in Spain, nor were most born to recent Spanish nationals;
• although most U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish, not all do, and though most Spanish-speaking people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., some U.S. Hispanics by the fourth generation no longer speak Spanish, while there are many non-Hispanic of the Southwest that may be fluent in the language), and;
• although most Hispanics have a Spanish surname, not all do, and while most Spanish-surnamed people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., there are many Spanish-surnamed Filipinos, however, Filipinos are not Hispanic).

In the mass media and in law enforcement, as well as popular culture, Hispanic is often used to physically describe a subject's race or appearance, sometimes with little regard for an individual's language or culture. In general, Hispanics are assumed to have traits such as dark hair and eyes, and olive or brown skin, and are viewed as physically intermediate between whites and blacks or Native Americans. Hispanics with mostly Caucasoid or Negroid features may not be recognized as such by many people, despite the ethnic and racial diversity of most Latin American populations. People of Spanish or Latin American ancestry who do not "look Hispanic" may have their ethnic status questioned or even challenged by others.

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Difficulties and criticisms on the U.S. application of "Hispanic"

"Hispanic", as the term is defined and used in the United States, encompasses a very diverse population, which often makes efforts toward creating a Pan-Hispanic sense of identity difficult. While in the United States Hispanics are often treated as a group apart from "whites", "blacks", and other racial groups, they actually include people who identify with any of the aforementioned racial and ethnic groups, as well as identifying as various others.

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Some people argue that since Spain is in Europe and all indigenous Spaniards belong to the Caucasian race, they should not be included in the Hispanic category, being that in the United States, Hispanic is designated as a "minority group". However, others counter that Spain and the Hispanic American nations, despite their differences, are part of the same greater cultural sphere, and Spaniards may therefore face discrimination based on the assumption that they belong to a particularly discriminated Hispanic nationality.

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In the United States, a great proportion of "Hispanics" identify as mestizo, partly because much of Latin America is of this mixed ancestry regardless of national origin and they constitute majority populations in most Latin American countries. Many other Hispanics may be of unmixed Spanish ancestry, predominantly those from Uruguay and Argentina, or of primarily Spanish ancestry with some Native American ancestry, not uncommon amongst Costa Ricans and Chileans. Some may also be of unmixed Native American ancestry, many of those from Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru, and a noticeable proportion of those from Mexico, while many Hispanics of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Colombian backgrounds may be mulatto or of unmixed black African ancestry. However, the presence of these mentioned races and race-mixes are not country-specific, since they can be found in every Latin American country, whether as larger of smaller proportions of their respective populations.

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On occasion the demographics of certain nations may not mirror the demographics of their nationals in the USA. This is the case with Cuban Americans who are predominantly of unmixed or relatively unmixed Spanish ancestry, despite Cuba being a mulatto/black majority country. This racial disparity between Cubans on the U.S. mainland and those on the island is caused largely by the fact that most emigrant with the means to flee communist Cuba belong to the upper and upper-middle classes, which have traditionally been predominantly white.

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Additionally, a percentage of U.S. Hispanics may have no Spanish ancestry at all, and instead trace their ancestries from other European countries, the Middle East, or even East Asia. Examples of these would include Argentinian and Uruguayan-born Italians (around one third of their countries' populations); Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Mexican-born Lebanese; Cuban, Puerto Rican and Panamanian-born Chinese; Chilean and Paraguayan-born Germans; or Peruvian-born Japanese. However, when they migrate to the United States, the definition as most frequently advocated would consider them Hispanic.

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See also: Asian Latino.

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United States: :For other uses, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation)....

Spain: The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de Espa?a or Espa?a; Catalan: Regne d'Espanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma; Asturian: Reinu d'Espa?a or Espa?a) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the nor...

Spanish: Spanish can mean:...

Hispanic related Images and Photos (experimental)

Hispanic Heritage - Nancy Lopez	Hispanic Heritage - Pablo Casals	Hispanic Heritage - Simon Bolivar	Hispanic Heritage - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Baby Alive Hispanic Better Now Doll	Baby Alive Hispanic Care For Me All Gone Doll	Baby Alive Bouncing Babbles Hispanic Baby Doll	Little Mommy Newborn Nursery Hispanic Doll
Little Mommy Sweet As Me Hispanic Doll	Little Mommy Playtime Baby Doll (Hispanic)	Human Figure Pendant with Headdress from Popayan Pre-Hispanic Colombian c. 1492