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del.icio.us| COMMENTARY |
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Dictionary 23rd February 2005 |
Latin Function: noun 1 : the Indo-European language of the ancient Latins and Romans and the most important cultural language of western Europe until the end of the 17th century. The Latin language and literature from the end of the third century B.C. to the end of the second century A.D. 2 : a member of the Samnitic people of the Italian peninsula 3 : a Catholic of the Latin rite 4 : a member of one of the Latin peoples; specifically : a native or inhabitant of Latin America 5 : LATIN ALPHABET |
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Yahoo! 12th March 2005 |
Usage Note: Though often used interchangeably in American English, 'Hispanic' and 'Latino' are not identical terms, and in certain contexts the choice between them can be significant. 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 sometimes 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 latino-americano 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; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic, not a Latino, and one cannot substitute Latino in the phrase the Hispanic influence on native Mexican cultures without garbling the meaning. In practice, however, this distinction is of little significance when referring to 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 rift that has opened 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 and cultural resonance of Latino, with its Spanish sound and its ability to show the feminine form Latina when used of women. Furthermore, Hispanic, the term used by the U.S. Census Bureau and other government agencies, is said to bear the stamp of an Anglo establishment far removed from the concerns of the Spanish-speaking community. While these views are strongly held by some, they are by no means universal, and the division in usage seems as related to geography as it is to politics, with Latino widely preferred in California and Hispanic the more usual term in Florida and Texas. Even in these regions, however, usage is often mixed, and it is not uncommon to find both terms used by the same writer or speaker. |
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ܢ  12th March 2005 |
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Hispanic |
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Steven Colosi 16th March 2005 |
From around eighth grade I have been interested in finding out the way our government groups people into racial categories on U.S. Census forms, State tests, and at the DMV knowing that Hispanic is not a race and is already aforementioned on the forms. There seems to be many lacks of understanding on some and I am going to make it my sole duty to bring awareness to this politically sensitive matter. I support adding Mediterranean and Middle Easterner as a separate category on the application form. The system is so screwed up that everyone from countries east of the Middle East is considered Asian despite the fact that people from India are Caucasians and not at all relative to people from China. It is stupid that our government views people of a darker complexion as non-Caucasian and we have all of these Northern Nazi types claiming to be the Aryan race. I am sorry but Aryan people are nothing close to Hitler’s description. Iranians and people from the Indian subcontinent are the true Aryans, which doesn’t even have a racial reference in their usage. Our government just doesn’t have a clue in the world how to identify people and therefore we have people of an “unknown race” because of ignorance. I don’t understand why Hispanic shouldn’t refer to Portuguese culture instead of just pertaining to Spanish culture especially when their cultures are more related to each other than our government gives them credit for. The definition is no doubt ignorant of that fact. After all they both occupy the same peninsula, which was known as Hispania and is known today as the Iberian Peninsula. The Latins are the ancient ancestors of the Italians whom settle in the region of Italy known as Latium and is now Lazio. However, the Celt Iberians are the ancient ancestors of the Spanish and Portuguese and therefore they are a Celt Iberian people, not a Latin people despite their languages derive principally from their language. If a Latin is a native or resident of ancient Latium, then they aren’t a native or inhabitant of Latin America. A Latino is a Hispanic American whereas an Italian or someone of Italian descent residing in America is a Latin-American. However, people from Portugal and Brazil are not Hispanic American considering the definition for Hispanic. I also have found out by curiosity that Ralph Nader is an Arab-American of Lebanese descent. Believe it or not Doug Flutie is also an Arab-American and they are white according to the government. This is why I want Mediterranean and Middle Easterner added to the application. Latins, Greeks, and Albanians have generally the same complexion as Arabs and in addition if I were full-blooded I would have more of an olive complexion even though it is not always true. |
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    31st March 2005 |
The term Caucasian race has in time acquired somewhat different meanings in different contexts.It is popularly used in North America to describe whites of northern, eastern and western European descent, usually excluding Italians, Greeks, Albanians, and Maltese (Mediterraneans) along with North Africans and Middle Easterners. |
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Packard Bell 2nd April 2005 |
Steven, made his final corrections to what he submitted to http://www.portuguesefoundation.org/hispanic.htm in December by backing up his opinion with facts. However, since already have submitted, can't change it. So he has submitted his comments to the U.S. Census Bureau multiple times and worked on revising his sentences along the way. He touched up for the last time on Monday and hopes to see here in the commentary. |
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AMorris 14th July 2005 |
Where is the US population - It eliminate the US from any per capita graphs and maps and is necessary - According to CIA World Factbook it is 295,734,134 |
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Spencer Sepeda (Elkins High School) 19th October 2006 |
Thank you for all the helpful and intelegent information, it helped me pass a history test. |
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