What is the difference between Latinos, Hispanics, and Spanish people?

Question

Okay I know this may sound like a stupid question but I have a Mexican girlfriend, I'm african-american, and she hates when I call her hispanic, but when I call her Latin she's okay with it, whats the difference between the three? oh yeah and whats the difference between Chinese, japanese, korean, asian, and phillipine people?

Answer 1

Latinos= Latin American heritage
Hispanic = Spain, Spaniard/European heritage
Spanish= Spanish speaking

Chinese= from china
Japanese= from japan
Asian= from Asian continent
Phillipean= from phillipean islands

Answer 2

My boyfriend is Latin and he does the same thing. He says it is because "Hispanic" is a word invented by white Americans. He says that there is no "Hispanic" culture he is Latin. He also doesn't like to be called Spanish because Spaniards are Europeans. So basically Spanish are Europeans, Latinos are people from Latin America (Mexico, central America, South America) and Hispanic is a made up PC term to identify all Spanish speaking people.
Chinese, Japanese, Koreans,and Filipinos are Asian people. They are from the Eastern Hemisphere.

Answer 3

You have asked a lot of questions in your one question. First, I will take the second part: All Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans are Asians because they live in Asia, but also because Asian refers to the Oriental race. Asians prefer to be called Asians rather than Orientals, and I do not know why. Probably because "Oriental" refers to the Eastern part of the world. Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Philipinos are called that because they come from those countries.

Now, to Hispanics: Most younger people who come from Spanish-speaking backgrounds do not like to be referred to as Hispanics. They mistakenly believe that Hispanic refers to someone from Spain. When cultural scholars and researchers wrote about Spanish-speaking people, they used the word "hispanic". It did not mean necessarily from Spain, in which case they would have used the word "Spanish".

Your girlfriend, if she is Mexican, is Latin, which means that in Mexico, they speak Spanish, which is a language that comes from Latin (the language). Technically, if she were from any other Spanish-speaking country, or from Italy, or Portugal, or France, or Romania, she would also be Latin, because these are countries whose languages also stem from the Latin language.

Answer 4

Okay, there is no Phillipean!
Hispanic is (truly!!!) a word that the american Govt came up with to descride latinos because it has the word panic in it, I swear!!!
Also, there is no Hispania, check it. If you find it, look for Caucasia next.

Spanish refers to the language most commonly spoken in Spain.
The people from there are Spaniards.

Latinos are people who are generally derived from the Latin Culture, as in the Roman Empire, as in the people who spoke Latin. Today this includes but is not limited to; Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Portugese, Brazilians, Italians, Cubans, et c.