# New Yorkers using "Spanish" in place of "Hispanic" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677 "2011-09-18T00:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/1 "2011-09-18T00:31:06Z")
People I’ve met or known from New York City and the immediately surrounding area tend to use the word “Spanish” to identify those whose roots are in Spanish-speaking countries, a group who would be collectively called “[Hispanic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic)” elsewhere in the United States. I’m curious about such usage. Mentally, when I hear someone talk about someone who might be “Spanish”, I think the subject is from Spain, not Puerto Rico, Mexico or the Dominican Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/2 "2011-09-18T01:45:02Z")
I’ve never encountered this (admittedly I lived 300 miles upstate) other than in the phrase “Spanish Harlem” for the original Puerto Rican section of Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![automagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@automagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/automagic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/3 "2011-09-18T02:17:42Z")
I am originally from NY and my parents are from El Salvador and we use Spanish regularly to describe anyone one of Latin descent. We know the proper word is Hispanic but I think we use it to show that the person we are describing speaks Spanish. In NY many Hispanic families are first and second generation in this country and most of the children of these families speak Spanish and we could call those people Spanish. When I moved to California I noticed that there are Hispanic families that have been here for many generations and do not speak Spanish. Although they look Hispanic I would not call them Spanish since they do not speak the language. Just to add more confusion, when I lived in Western Pennsylvania, for a brief time, people usually called anyone of Hispanic descent Mexican. I once heard a comedian say that its easy to know where a Hispanic person comes from. If they’re in NY they’re Puerto Rican. If they’re in Florida, they’re Cuban and if they’re in California they’re Mexican. Very simple way of remembering and you will probably be right. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/4 "2011-09-18T03:01:12Z")
I don’t think this type of thing is extremely unusual. First of all “Hispanic” comes from “Hispania” which was the Latin name of the Roman Province that basically became Spain and Portugal. Also, identifying people by their language is used elsewhere - the Amish in the US sometimes refer to non-Amish English speakers in the US as “English”, whether or not the person has UK citizenship or is even descended from English ancestors. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/5 "2011-09-18T03:09:42Z")
I’m not sure why, but it applies to restaurants too. If someone tells me they are going to the Spanish restaurant or to get Spanish food, I’m not really what sure what kind of food it will be, except that it will have nothing to do with Spain ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/6 "2011-09-18T03:29:03Z")
I heard this often in the 70s and I’m sure some older folks still use it. To my ears, it is out of date and perhaps mildly offensive. Designations like Hispanic and Latino came into popular use more recently and are now the preferred terms. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/7 "2011-09-18T05:17:59Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m not sure why, but it applies to restaurants too. If someone tells me they are going to the Spanish restaurant or to get Spanish food, I’m not really what sure what kind of food it will be, except that it will have nothing to do with Spain What do you call actual Spanish restaurants? Iberian? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/8 "2011-09-18T05:53:33Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > I’ve never encountered this (admittedly I lived 300 miles upstate) other than in the phrase “Spanish Harlem” for the original Puerto Rican section of Manhattan. I’m from Upstate too, and I never heard it there, either, except from people who were originally from New York **City**. That’s why I’m asking about its usage in New York **City**. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/9 "2011-09-18T05:56:08Z")
I live in Colorado. When someone says “Spanish”, it’s generally an offensive or ignorant term. Once I heard a fucking GEOGRAPHY TEACHER complain about how no one could find countries on a world map map…“Most can’t even find Spain! You’d think with all the Spanish kids, they’d know where it is!” She won Teacher of the Year, too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/10 "2011-09-18T05:56:26Z")
This happens in _Dog Day Afternoon_ - after Sonny is tackled by the Puerto Rican guy trying to save his girlfriend Maria held hostage in the bank, the fat sweaty police sergeant says, “you know how the Spanish are”. (Reckless, but also brave, is the implication.) There’s also a line from _Rent_ about hearing the “Spanish babies cry” which I assume is not talking about babies from Spain. ---
**Author:** ![automagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a698b9/32.png) [@automagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/automagic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/11 "2011-09-18T06:13:18Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I live in Colorado. When someone says “Spanish”, it’s generally an offensive or ignorant term. Once I heard a fucking GEOGRAPHY TEACHER complain about how no one could find countries on a world map map…“Most can’t even find Spain! You’d think with all the Spanish kids, they’d know where it is!” > > She won Teacher of the Year, too. :smack: I have never taken the word as offensive and I believe most people who consider themselves Hispanic would not mind being called Spanish. The context is what matters. If that teacher replaced Spanish with Hispanic it would not change the tone of the statement. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/12 "2011-09-18T08:06:10Z")
I remember hearing this a few times in DC in the '80s, too. Also remember my grandmother telling me that her grandmother, who was born and raised in California to a Hispanic family that had been in (what is now) the US since the time of Cortes, always referred to the family as “Spanish”. So it may have been common, and not offensive, at one time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/13 "2011-09-18T10:28:58Z")
People still commonly refer to having a “Spanish accent” when speaking Spanish, even if they are trying to sound like they are from Latin America. Heck, I recently decided to go ahead and use that term in a thread, as “Hispanic accent” just sounded weird and people around here seem to frown at least slightly on “Latino.” ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/14 "2011-09-18T10:42:53Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > I remember hearing this a few times in DC in the '80s, too. > > Also remember my grandmother telling me that her grandmother, who was born and raised in California to a Hispanic family that had been in (what is now) the US since the time of Cortes, always referred to the family as “Spanish”. So it may have been common, and not offensive, at one time. Ah, but that case really WOULD be Spanish, more or less…that is, descended from Spanish colonial-era settlers. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/15 "2011-09-18T11:22:07Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > What do you call actual Spanish restaurants? Iberian? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/16 "2011-09-18T14:01:16Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I have no idea. Actual Spanish restaurants are called Spanish restaurants. It’s a specific cuisine. One of my personal favorites. It’s not Mexican, Tex-Mex, South American etc. Think tapas, paella etc. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/17 "2011-09-18T14:28:32Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Actual Spanish restaurants are called Spanish restaurants. It’s a specific cuisine. One of my personal favorites. It’s not Mexican, Tex-Mex, South American etc. Think tapas, paella etc. I’m sure that in the entire rest of the country, actual Spanish restaurants are called Spanish restaurants. Maybe they are in NYC, too. I don’t know. Because every time I’ve heard people say they are going to a Spanish restaurant, it has actually been a Puerto Rican restaurant, a Dominican restaurant, Peruvian, Ecuadorean , etc. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/18 "2011-09-18T15:45:15Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m sure that in the entire rest of the country, actual Spanish restaurants are called Spanish restaurants. Maybe they are in NYC, too. I don’t know. Because every time I’ve heard people say they are going to a Spanish restaurant, it has actually been a Puerto Rican restaurant, a Dominican restaurant, Peruvian, Ecuadorean , etc. Ah, missed you location- you were speaking from a NYC metro perspective. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/19 "2011-09-18T15:51:59Z")
Never heard this. Here in NE Ohio I always hear “Latino” or, less often, “Hispanic.” ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677/20 "2011-09-18T16:05:38Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m sure that in the entire rest of the country, actual Spanish restaurants are called Spanish restaurants. Maybe they are in NYC, too. I don’t know. Because every time I’ve heard people say they are going to a Spanish restaurant, it has actually been a Puerto Rican restaurant, a Dominican restaurant, Peruvian, Ecuadorean , etc. I haven’t heard people using “Spanish” in this sense for years. Probably not since my great-uncle, the somewhat racist ex-cab driver named Murray, died. “Spanish” is something said by the old folks. They don’t (always) mean it in a racist way, they just don’t care about cultural distinctions. I think the younger generation (by which I mean, everyone under 60) is a little more aware of cultural differences. Generally IME, people have changed over to specifying the regional cuisine, as in “Have you tried the Peruvian chicken place?” or “That Dominican restaurant makes a mean Cuban sandwich.” If a place serves generically central American/Mexican food I would call it Latino, or if it serves a selection of traditional regional cuisines, I would call it '“Pan-Latino” (analogizing to “Pan-asian.”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-yorkers-using-spanish-in-place-of-hispanic/596677.md?page=2)