From time to time, I’ve included the updates that the Associated Press sends us on style changes. I think they’re interesting, because they speak to the ever-evolving use of words and the shifts in meaning as culture adapts over time. Like most large institutions, the AP tends to be fairly conservative, so when they change something it’s not done just on a whim.
Here’s what they sent out last night:
Latino
Often the preferred term for a person from—or whose ancestors were from—a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Latina is the feminine form. Follow the person’s preference. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian or Mexican-American. See Hispanic, nationalities and races, and race entries.
This is a little murkier than I like in a style guide. What does preferred mean? Most of the time?
Latino/Latina wasn’t in the old stylebook, but it’s gained in popularity through the years. And it’s just one of many terms that can be used to describe people who are from south of the U.S. border or even from parts of Europe. It’s not interchangeable with Hispanic. While a person from, say, Nicaragua, might be both. A person from Brazil would be the first and not the second.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists has as its sub title: Increasing the influence of Latinos in U.S. Newsrooms. It’s not a pick one and only one solution.
The tempting thing for Anglos to do is to make a blanket statement to the effect: These folks can’t figure it out. Why should we bother?
To me, that’s a cop out. The world comes in more flavors than it used to. I’d like to think that’s a good thing, even when it causes confusion in trying to accurately describe people.
Taste Test: There was a story in the paper yesterday about making kosher pickles. I am a serious pickle person, and, while this is not the time of year to be making pickles, reading the story gave me a hankering. So, I got all the ingredients and followed the five easy steps. I will report back in a week on whether this recipe is worth its (kosher) salt.
Your host is Ken Otterbourg, the managing editor at the Winston-Salem Journal. It's a forum to discuss the media, from
“And it’s just one of many terms that can be used to describe people who are from south of the U.S. border or even from parts of Europe.”
Actually, no. People from the Spanish speaking cities of Europe are not considered - nor do they consider themselves - Latinos. Castellanos, Vascos, etc., yes, but never Latinos.
I won’t muddy the waters with “Chicano” and “La Raza” (but suffice it to say that people from the Spanish speaking cities of Europe are not considered those either).
Generally speaking, Brazilians don’t consider themselves Latino. Again, generally. (This is a good place for that “Follow the person’s preference” line.) Certainly not Latino are persons from other Portuguese speaking cities, including Goa.
I would tend to agree with you on the Europe thing, but it’s AP’s wording that gives wiggle room. What’s pretty clear from this and from the half-dozen other ethnicity/nationality style updates that I have received from the AP during the past two days is that a fairly monolithic organization has opted for a more individualistic approach that—imagine this—takes into account a person’s own preference when choosing descriptors.
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