# Why "Latin" America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998 "2003-12-31T20:21:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SAustinTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@SAustinTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SAustinTx)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/1 "2003-12-31T20:21:16Z")
Why is South America referred to as “Latin America” and it’s people as “Latinos”? I’d think if any people were considered Latins it would be the descendants of the Greeks and Romans, but obviously my knowledge of history must be lacking in some area. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/2 "2003-12-31T20:29:29Z")
Spanish and Portuguese are known as “Latin” or “Latinate” languages. I believe they are also called “Romance” languages. It’s because they have so much in common with ancient Latin. Trinopus ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/3 "2003-12-31T20:34:17Z")
The people who could best be considered descendants of the Latins are the Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanians, since all of those languages are directly descended from Latin. Since Spanish and Portuguese are the main languages of South and Central America, it makes sense somehow, to refer to those areas as Latin America. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/4 "2003-12-31T20:55:13Z")
Don’t neglect the other Romance (latinate) languages: Rhaetian, Occitan (Langue d’Oc), Friulian, Catalan, Dalmatian, & Sardinian. There are others, but they mostly died out. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/5 "2003-12-31T21:03:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SAustinTx \* > \*\*Why is South America referred to as “Latin America” and it’s people as “Latinos”? I’d think if any people were considered Latins it would be the descendants of the Greeks and Romans, but obviously my knowledge of history must be lacking in some area. \*\* Italians are sometimes called “Latins.” Since Latin was a language, not a nationality (like Roman), any people who speak a Romance language have a legitimate claim to a label like “Latin” or “Latino.” ---
**Author:** ![SAustinTx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@SAustinTx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SAustinTx)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/6 "2003-12-31T21:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\*Italians are sometimes called “Latins.” Since Latin was a language, not a nationality (like Roman), any people who speak a Romance language have a legitimate claim to a label like “Latin” or “Latino.” \*\* Makes sense, but in light of the other responses vis a vis French, Italian, etc also having just as legitimate claims to Latin heritage, so the bottom line is: is it really much of a distinction to call any of these particular heritages Latin at the exclusion of the others? Seems like this may have begun as a random nickname and just stuck over the ages. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/7 "2003-12-31T21:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SAustinTx \* > Makes sense, but in light of the other responses vis a vis French, Italian, etc also having just as legitimate claims to Latin heritage, so the bottom line is: **is it really much of a distinction** to call any of these particular heritages Latin at the exclusion of the others? Seems like this may have begun as a random nickname and just stuck over the ages. My bolding. No, it isn’t a logical distinction. Any or all could justifiably called “Latin”, but somehow that appelation got applied more to the Spanish line than to any other. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/8 "2003-12-31T22:30:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Don’t neglect the other Romance (latinate) languages: Rhaetian, Occitan (Langue d’Oc), Friulian, Catalan, Dalmatian, & Sardinian. > > There are others, but they mostly died out. \*\* Good point, and you can add Moldovan, Vlach, Gallegan, and one or two others. But the last person natively fluent in Dalmatian died just after WWI (I avoided “last speaker” as his parents were that – he grew up knowing it but never himself spoke it after their deaths, for obvious reasons). The Dalmatians I’m aware of speak either Serbo-Croatian or Canine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![deadeyesdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@deadeyesdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadeyesdad)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/9 "2003-12-31T23:12:43Z")
So we could call Quebec part of Latin America. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/10 "2004-01-01T00:59:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by deadeyesdad \* > \*\*So we could call Quebec part of Latin America. \*\* Which is where a lot of Candadians would like to export that province, too.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-latin-america/221998/11 "2004-01-01T03:20:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gary T \* > \*\*Italians are sometimes called “Latins.” Since Latin was a language, not a nationality (like Roman), any people who speak a Romance language have a legitimate claim to a label like “Latin” or “Latino.” \*\* Actually, in french, “romances languages” are called the equivalent of “latin languages”. It might be the same in spanish, portuguese, italian, etc… (never wondered about it). So, from a french (and possibly spanish, portuguese…and latin american!) point of view, it’s logical to call latin america this way. It’s the equivalent of calling it “romance america” in english. So, it depends also on whom began to call it “latin america”…Possibly the latin americans themselves did. Most probably, the british weren’t involved and just adopted the word.