For the longest time, I assumed that “Latin” America only referred to Spanish-speaking countries. I understand it now to be all the Central, South, and Caribbean countries that speak a Romance (i.e. Latin) language should be included. But what about the few cases where they don’t? For instance, is Belize part of Latin America? They speak English.
And while we’re at it, whom: people, actually identify as Latino/Latina/Latinx from non-Spanish-speaking countries? Do Belizians? Brazilians? Surinamers? The Guyanese? And then there’s the whole Caribbean: Spanish is barely ever the official language. Cuban-Americans and people from the Dominican Republic (Dominican Republicans? Ha ha) refer to themselves as Latinx, but would (Dominica-)Dominicans, Jamaicans, or Bahamians?
Boy does JetPunk take my brain off on tangential adventures! ;-)
People may refer to themselves as whatever they want, but technically, no, Belize, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, and most of the Caribbean island nations are not part of Latin America. Brazil and Haiti are; not sure how many Haitians think of themselves as Latino but I imagine the ones living in Miami, at least, might choose to adopt that label.
Got stuck on Roald Dahl for the longest time. Tried Matilda, tried James and the Giant Peach. Finally the fog lifted. Even though it's the least guessed, I still would have felt really bad if I had missed it.
Egypt.. ugh... I must've typed the top 30 of countries with the least precipitation, everything but Egypt.. Only one I missed this time (apparently I have taken it before, but forgotten it completely..)
For the longest time, I assumed that “Latin” America only referred to Spanish-speaking countries. I think I now understand it mean all the Central, South, and Caribbean countries that speak a Romance (i.e. Latin) language should be included. But what about the few cases where they don’t? For instance, is Belize part of Latin America? (They speak English.)
And while we’re at it, who, in terms of people, actually identify as Latino/Latina/Latinx from non-Spanish-speaking countries? Do Belizians? Brazilians? Surinamers? The Guyanese? And then there’s the whole Caribbean, were Spanish is rarely the official language. Cuban-Americans and people from the Dominican Republic (Dominican Republicans? Ha ha) refer to themselves as Latinx, but would (Dominica-)Dominicans, Jamaicans, or Bahamians?
Boy does JetPunk take my brain off on tangential adventures! ;-)
Here's a poll that asks people of Hispanic descent what they identify as. Hispanic is the most common, followed by Latina/Latino. Almost no one identifies as Latinx. which is a label mostly imposed on the community from outside.
I dated a girl from Belize. She was a mix of Spanish, French Creole, Scottish, American Indigenous, and East Indian. She did not identify as Latino.
I dated a Cuban-American girl. She definitely did not refer to herself as Latinx >_<. I asked her recently if she identified as "white" and she said she never really thought about it.
The Dominican woman I used to work with at the hospital called herself Latina all the time. The Jamaican women in the same ER did not. That would have been weird.
Have known many Brazilians but never asked any of them about this. Technically they are Latino.
In an old pornographic magazine from the 90s that used to be in my closet dedicated to "Latin women" I remember there were several from Spain, Portugal, and Brazil in there among other places. I think looking at this magazine might have been the first time I thought about what these terms meant specifically.
I might agree in part with you if Quebec was a separate country, but it's part of Canada which is mostly English-speaking. It would be like saying Texas or Los Angeles should be included in Latin America because a lot of people there speak Spanish. Also, language isn't the only deciding factor - I think culture and geography play a part, too. What do those from Quebec say about it?
As someone who's never been to Quebec, It strikes me that the culture and society of Quebec is quite different from that of any country described as Latin America, (although you could make a case that Quebec is technically Latin American, I agree with ander217 that there are other factors at play rather than just language).
I was mainly saying this for fun, but actually, many people do include a lot of the Southern United States in Latin America! It really depends on how you define it. If you define it culturally, then parts of the Southern US definitely belong to it (and Québec, sadly, doesnt).
I know it's been a few years but who is among the "many people" who think "a lot of the Southern United States" (a tangent--this is its own quasi-geographic term that probably doesn't include or overlap with most of the same states or areas you'd call Latin America)? Where are they saying it?
I tried ten different sports for the Winter Olympics question and didn't get it, LOL. I think of skiing, hockey, and all the bobsled/luge/skeleton-type events. Figure skating didn't even register
I agree. There's just no way, figure skating is number one. It's like the tenth winter sport I think of. But on the original quiz it is truly (by far!) the most guessed. Mind-boggling
And while we’re at it, whom: people, actually identify as Latino/Latina/Latinx from non-Spanish-speaking countries? Do Belizians? Brazilians? Surinamers? The Guyanese? And then there’s the whole Caribbean: Spanish is barely ever the official language. Cuban-Americans and people from the Dominican Republic (Dominican Republicans? Ha ha) refer to themselves as Latinx, but would (Dominica-)Dominicans, Jamaicans, or Bahamians?
Boy does JetPunk take my brain off on tangential adventures! ;-)
And while we’re at it, who, in terms of people, actually identify as Latino/Latina/Latinx from non-Spanish-speaking countries? Do Belizians? Brazilians? Surinamers? The Guyanese? And then there’s the whole Caribbean, were Spanish is rarely the official language. Cuban-Americans and people from the Dominican Republic (Dominican Republicans? Ha ha) refer to themselves as Latinx, but would (Dominica-)Dominicans, Jamaicans, or Bahamians?
Boy does JetPunk take my brain off on tangential adventures! ;-)
I dated a Cuban-American girl. She definitely did not refer to herself as Latinx >_<. I asked her recently if she identified as "white" and she said she never really thought about it.
The Dominican woman I used to work with at the hospital called herself Latina all the time. The Jamaican women in the same ER did not. That would have been weird.
Have known many Brazilians but never asked any of them about this. Technically they are Latino.
In an old pornographic magazine from the 90s that used to be in my closet dedicated to "Latin women" I remember there were several from Spain, Portugal, and Brazil in there among other places. I think looking at this magazine might have been the first time I thought about what these terms meant specifically.