# The meaning/implication of the term "Hispanic" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162 "2015-10-01T17:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/1 "2015-10-01T17:53:59Z")
Please help settle a debate I had with a coworker today. It started because our workplace put up a display table to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. The display included information and items from Mexico, a variety of Central and South American countries…and Spain. My coworker feels that including Spain in the celebrations is inaccurate and inappropriate. To her, the term “Hispanic” clearly and exclusively refers to the countries that were _colonized_ by Spain - NOT Spain itself. She seemed to think it was, in fact, offensive to include Spain. I countered by showing that the dictionary definition - “relating to Spain or to Spanish-speaking countries, especially those of Central and South America” - clearly includes Spain, and that while most Hispanics in the US are not descended from people who came directly from Spain, if someone moved from Madrid to New York he or she would be a Hispanic and their heritage would also be celebrated this month. She thought the dictionary definition was irrelevant because there is a clear contextual/political/social meaning to the term “Hispanic” in American English and Spain itself is not included in that meaning. (I _think_ that’s a fair summation of her opinion.) I allowed that there may be multiple definitions for the term, but that her definition is probably a minority one and that most Americans would see nothing contradictory about including Spain and Spanish heritage in Hispanic Heritage celebrations. And on and on the debate went without resolution. So I turn it over to you: IS Spain covered in the term “Hispanic”? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/2 "2015-10-01T17:57:24Z")
No. Regardless of the technical meanings of the words, “Hispanic” in common use refers to Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. Same way that Arabs are Semites just the same as Jews, but in common use “anti-Semitic” means anti-Jew, and Arabs can be referred to as anti-Semitic without confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/3 "2015-10-01T18:20:03Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > No. Regardless of the technical meanings of the words, “Hispanic” in common use refers to Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas and the Caribbean. I disagree. That term is “Latino.” “Hispanic” does indeed include Spaniards. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/4 "2015-10-01T18:29:58Z")
Is the co-worker a _Latina_ from the New World who objects to being identified with Spain? Or is she Spanish, objecting to being associated with the mixed-bloods whose ancestors were so rude as to rebel against Spain? If she’s neither, ignore her. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/5 "2015-10-01T18:34:22Z")
I used to date a Puerto Rican man. I’ve asked for an explanation several times regarding “Latino” vs. “Hispanic” and frankly, I seem to get a different explanation depending on who I ask. It seems safe to just go with Latina/Latino, but I think whatever you do, you’ll end up offending someone. (Puerto Rican guy’s answer: Just don’t call me Mexican or Cuban!) ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/6 "2015-10-01T18:43:56Z")
I’d go with the same reasoning of the op, it seems the most important aspect of being Hispanic is being from or descended from Spanish speaking countries which would obviously include Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.TimBeck5436](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dr.TimBeck5436](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.TimBeck5436)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/7 "2015-10-01T18:47:39Z")
It depends on who you are talking to. Most people would include spain just of the basics if you look at the word hiSPANIc. It practiclly has the word in there. Everyone I have ever met includes it. When I have gone to mexico many of those peolpe included it as well. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/8 "2015-10-01T19:11:25Z")
> [@Dr.TimBeck5436](#): > > It depends on who you are talking to. Most people would include spain just of the basics if you look at the word hiSPANIc. It practiclly has the word in there. Everyone I have ever met includes it. When I have gone to mexico many of those peolpe included it as well. Exactly what I was going to say. What does your coworker think the word is derived from? Also, any person that would get offended at a gesture that is being made in an attempt to honor their heritage (even if erroneous, which in this case I don’t believe it is) needs to pull the \*palanca \*out of their _culo_. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/9 "2015-10-01T19:22:01Z")
According to Wiki the definition could extend to Portuguese speaking people as well. > [@](#): > > Hispanic (Spanish: hispano, hispánico Galician: hispánico, Basque: hispaniar, Catalan: hispà)[1][2] is an ethnonym to people of country heritage that speak the Spanish language, in some definitions, to ancient Roman Hispania, which roughly comprised the Iberian Peninsula including the contemporary states of Spain, Portugal, Andorra and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.[3][4][5] The Philippines and it’s residents are a more controversial area. Filipino originally referred to people of Spanish descent born in the Philippines, but is now used as a broader term for all of it’s residents. Their language and culture are heavily influenced by Spanish occupation but they not considered Hispanic by many. What a weird world we live in. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/10 "2015-10-01T19:22:23Z")
The Usage Note [here](https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=hispanic) has it pretty accurately, for my experience. > [@American Heritage](#): > > Though often used interchangeably in American English, Hispanic and Latino are not identical terms. Hispanic, from the Latin word for “Spain,” has the broader reference, potentially encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasizing the common denominator of language among communities that might sometimes seem to have little else in common. Latino—which in Spanish means “Latin” but which as an English word is probably a shortening of the Spanish word latinoamericano—refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin. Of the two, only Hispanic can be used in referring to Spain and its history and culture. In practice, however, this distinction is of little significance when referring to Spanish-speaking residents of the United States, most of whom are of Latin American origin and can theoretically be called by either word. · A more important distinction concerns the sociopolitical divide between Latino and Hispanic in American usage. For a certain segment of the Spanish-speaking population, Latino is a term of ethnic pride and Hispanic a label that borders on the offensive. According to this view, Hispanic lacks the authenticity of Latino, with its Spanish sound and its ability to show the feminine form Latina when used of women… It’s worth pointing out that “Latin America” includes some countries where Spanish is _not_ the primary language. This is true whether one goes with a more literal/linguistic understanding (places in the Americas where any Romance languages are prevalent), _or_ with the vernacular US-American understanding of _everything south of the USA._ So the sets of Latino and Hispanic countries have substantial overlap, but neither subsumes the other. _In the US_, it is true, most people for whom one term applies would also be covered by the other. Just watch out for non-Latino Spaniards and non-Hispanic Brazilians. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/11 "2015-10-01T19:28:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The Philippines and it’s residents are a more controversial area. Filipino originally referred to people of Spanish descent born in the Philippines, but is now used as a broader term for all of it’s residents. Their language and culture are heavily influenced by Spanish occupation but they not considered Hispanic by many. Spanish-speaking, Spanish-descent people of Philippine nationality aren’t Hispanic? Seems pretty obvious nonsense to me; I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing, but if they do, presumably it is a byproduct of the confusion with “Latino.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/12 "2015-10-01T19:38:31Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Spanish-speaking, Spanish-descent people of Philippine nationality aren’t Hispanic? Seems pretty obvious nonsense to me; I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing, but if they do, presumably it is a byproduct of the confusion with “Latino.” I get the impression that Filipinos consider themselves to be Asian and not Spanish in any way. I don’t know if the Latino part is involved. Some Portuguese speaking people don’t like to be considered Hispanic, I can understand that sentiment, and maybe the people of the Philippines feel that way about it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/13 "2015-10-01T19:42:49Z")
I would say that Hispanic includes people from Spain. If you want to restrict it to just people from Latin Americas, it would be better to say Latino. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/14 "2015-10-01T19:49:31Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Spanish-speaking, Spanish-descent people of Philippine nationality aren’t Hispanic? Seems pretty obvious nonsense to me; I’ve never heard anyone say such a thing, but if they do, presumably it is a byproduct of the confusion with “Latino.” Most people in the Philippines nowadays speak Filipino (Tagalog), which is one of the official languages besides English. Spanish itself is not really used, although it has influenced Filipino. Since people in the Philippines are neither Spanish speaking, nor are most of them of majority Spanish descent (although they often have Spanish names), I would not consider them Hispanic. There may be few people who are mainly descended from Spanish colonists, and these would be Hispanic, but they are a tiny minority. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/15 "2015-10-01T21:03:05Z")
Your coworker is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/16 "2015-10-01T23:05:27Z")
The coworker is basically right, in that " southern hemisphere spanish speakers heritage day " makes a lot more sense than “entire spanish speaking world heritage day” ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/17 "2015-10-01T23:25:13Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I would say that Hispanic includes people from Spain. If you want to restrict it to just people from Latin Americas, it would be better to say Latino. +1 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/18 "2015-10-01T23:59:52Z")
> [@Dr.TimBeck5436](#): > > It depends on who you are talking to. Actually, a lot of the time it depends upon what the person who’s talking is trying to say–or imply. Yes, the American Heritage definition posted by **Peremensoe** , is what the word really means. But Americans (and generally Anglo-Americans) have come to use these words because they really want to imply something in particular about another person. Often, neither word denotes what they really want to say, for example when what they want to say is that another person is of a particular “race.” They’ll say “Hispanic” for this, even when the person perhaps doesn’t speak much Spanish. But there many white “Hispanics,” who are just as European as someone whose heritage is from Germany or England. People say Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are Hispanics–as though that means they have something in common with Mexican American mestizos, but they’re white as anyone else with European roots. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/19 "2015-10-02T00:21:58Z")
I’ve often argued that the U.S concept of Hispanic is akin to classifying British, Irish, Anglo-Canadians/Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, and perhaps English-speaking Indians, Nigerians, and South Africans as “Britannic.” Maybe if there was a country where a variety of these English-speaking groups migrated to and shared a common media, schools, and so forth that would happen. Perhaps that does happen in places with many expatriates like the Persian Gulf States - I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162/20 "2015-10-02T01:00:52Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > My coworker feels that including Spain in the celebrations is inaccurate and inappropriate. To her, the term “Hispanic” clearly and exclusively refers to the countries that were _colonized_ by Spain - NOT Spain itself. She seemed to think it was, in fact, offensive to include Spain. This is he description I have heard also, that there is some anti-Spanish sentiment (against the country of Spain) spanning form the colonial era. To call a a someone from Central/South America “Hispanic” would be akin to calling someone from the USA British or English. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-meaning-implication-of-the-term-hispanic/733162.md?page=2)