Depending on who you ask, it's either no big deal or a huge deal. Some Hispanic marketing professionals use it interchangeably, others point out quite a distinction, especially those born outside the U.S. If you feel like getting technical, splitting hairs, or simply wish to be politically correct, here's our two cents. Unfortunately, Webster's is no help, as it lists the very same definition for both terms. Fortunately, that is why we're here.
Hispanic is a person whose native language is Spanish, or is a descendent from a country where Spanish is the dominant language. This would include Spain and all Latin American countries where Spanish is spoken. (Not including Brazil, of course, where Portuguese is the native tongue.)
Latino is a person whose native language has its in roots Latin, or is a descendent from a country where its dominant language has its roots in Latin. This would include not only Spanish, but also Aragonese, Corsican, Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Sardinian, among others.
Therefore, a Hispanic is also a Latino, but a Latino is not necessarily a Hispanic.
Let's define "Hispanic"... again
"Hispanic" is not a race, but could be considered an ethnic group to a certain extent.
For far too long, the term "Hispanic marketing" has been considered synonymous to Spanish language. More often than not, it was erroneously believed all Hispanics were Spanish speakers, and therefore needed to be spoken to in that language. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
May we offer the following "reality check." Today's U.S. Hispanic falls into one of five categories, based upon their level of acculturation and assimilation:
Spanish monolingual - born outside the U.S., native language is Spanish, speaks very little or no English at all.
Spanish dominant - born outside the U.S., native language is Spanish, prefers to communicate in Spanish, speaks some English.
Bilingual - born outside the U.S. or in the U.S., native language is either Spanish or English, may have been brought up learning both languages, usually Spanish at home and English at school, speaks both languages.
English dominant - born in the U.S., native language is English, prefers to communicate in English, speaks some Spanish.
English monolingual - born in the U.S., native language is English, speaks very little or no Spanish at all.
As you can see, there are actually Hispanics that do not speak Spanish.
For inquiries, contact:
Luis Valdivia, President LV Omnimedia, Inc. San Diego, CA