- published: 27 Apr 2013
- views: 169096
Latino is a term used chiefly in the United States to refer to people of Latin American extraction or descent, though the term has also been used, perhaps incorrectly, as a synonym for Hispanic. The term latino is used to refer to males only or a combination of males and females in a group, whereas the term latina is used to refer to females only.
The U.S. Government has defined Hispanic or Latino persons as being "persons who trace their origin [to] . . . Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures." The United States Census uses the ethnonym Hispanic or Latino to refer to "persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spanish speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures." It is also stated that, "Origin can be considered as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race." The AP Stylebook's recommended usage of Latino includes not only persons of Spanish-speaking ancestry, but also more generally includes persons "from -- or whose ancestors were from -- . . . Latin America," including Brazilians.