Latino/Latina: originating from the Carribean, South or Central America. Gender neutral term (in English) is usually written as latinx.
- Sentence: María was born in Ecuador, so she is Latina.
Hispanic: Spanish-speaking.
- Sentence: José was born in Brazil, so he is NOT Hispanic, since his country’s official language is Portugese, but he IS considered Latino.
Mexican: from the Central American country named Mexico, NOT a language. NOTICE! not all Latinos in the US are from Mexico
- Sentence: Enrique was born in Mexico, so he is Mexican. Enrique speaks Spanish, since “Mexican” is not a language.
Chicano/Chicana/Chicanx: a person of Mexican descent (usually born in the US)
- Sentence: Anna’s parents were born in Mexico, so she identifies as Chicana. Her friend Miguel’s parents are from Colombia, so he identifies as Latino.
Spanish: a language spoken by many countries all over the world/ originating from the country Spain. NOTICE! not the only language spoken in Spain or South/Central America.
- Sentence: Juan was born in Madrid, so he is Spanish. He only speaks Spanish, but has friends who speak other languages.
Quechua, Catalan, Nahuatl, Gallego, Euskera: other languages spoken in countries where Spanish is the ‘official’ language. Many Hispanics are bilingual and Spanish may not be their native language.
- Sentence: Alba was born in a region of Spain called Catalonia. Even though she is Spanish, she speaks Catalan with her family and friends.
- Sentence #2: Sofia was born in Mexico and does not speak “Mexican,” but her family does speak Nahuatl, a native language originating in Mexico.
That is all.