Miguel Méndez
Community Tutor
(Part IV, please read first part I, II and III before reading this one) The term “Latin” and “Latino” are connected to the “Latin language”, a language that is unspoken nowadays. The languages that come from Latin are not Latin. The term also connects us with the Roman Empire, and we are very far from being Romans. The term “Latino” also refers to someone who speaks a language that comes from Latin, so, this term should be equally applied to Spaniards, Portugueses, Frenchs, Rumanians, and Italians, and Italians, by the way, have the spoken language that resembles the Latin language the most. Nevertheless, I don’t think these European countries would be glad to be labelled and grouped together with the people of South, Central and North America. The other issue is that the term “Latino” is used to label and group all the countries below the United States as if we were all the same, something that by the way isn’t true. This is a term that somehow erases our identities as separate, different cultures, even if we have a similar origin.
May 29, 2021 11:38 AM