Why do people call it "Latin America"?

Question

Why do people call it Latin America, or why is the PC term for central americans "Latin".

Latin was spoken in europe. It was an ancient european language. Never commonly spoken in places like Mexico, Cuba, ect. at any point. So why then?

Answer 1

The Romans explained where the name "Latin" comes from in the book that they consider their greatest cultural legacy to all time, the Aeneid, by Vergil.

The Romans believed that they were descended from Aeneas, the son of Venus. Aeneas was also descended from Jupiter. Aeneas was a Trojan prince who, with his followers, fled Troy after it was sacked by the Greeks at the end of a ten-year war. The cause of this war is said to have been caused when Helen, the queen of Sparta, decided to leave her husband for a younger man. The Iliad points to a different cause: the Greek gods play a huge role in that story. The Aeneid does not give the gods as much emphasis.

After the war, the remnants of the Trojan people followed Aeneas for many years as he sought his destiny: a land called Hesperia. He did find Hesperia as his gods had promised. Of course, it wasn't so easy to build his city. As it happened, Hesperia was inhabited by a people whose king was named Latinus. It is from this king that the people of Hesperia took their name, the Latins. The Latin people did not want to give up Italy. Italy was their land, and they did not just hand the place over to Aeneas without a fight. At the end of the book there is an epic battle. In the treaty that the Roman gods made so that the war could end, the Trojan people rule the world, but they keep the name of the people whom they conquered, and the culture of the Latins is allowed to continue for all time.

Latin is the name of the language that this new people, the Romans, spoke. Over many centuries after the fall of the Roman empire, the language split into several dialacts, which themselves developed into the child-languages of the mother-language Latin. These great languages which grew out of Latin are Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.

Latin has recently come into common use as a synonym for Hispanic, and this synonym is derived from the same source as the name of the language of the Romans, and through it, the daughter-languages of Latin. That source is the story I told above. Of course, Hispanics themselves say Latino and Latina, which is how adjectives work in their language. That beautiful language, Spanish, is itself a child (one of five) of the mother language Latin, that same ancient language which Julius Caesar spoke. Latin America takes its name from the heritage of the Spanish language.

Answer 2

Latin Americans are called Latino/a not "Latins". Latin America is called so because we speak romance languages that derived from Latin. Spanish, Portuguese, French. It was originally a political term, Amérique latine was coined by French emperor Napoleon III. "Amérique latine" is French for "Latin America". Before that the United States only knew Latin America as "Spanish America".

Answer 3

Most Central and South America countries' official language is either Spanish or Portuguese. Both romantic languages (with Latin -Roman- roots). Also French, Italian and Romanian, and most dialects in the Mediterranean Europe, have Latin origins. Any country whose official language has Latin roots is traditionally called Latin. So, now that I think about it, Canada, or at least part of it, could be considered part of Latin America.

Answer 4

We have our lenguaje Spanish that like Italian, French, Portuguess and all called Romantic leguajes (Rumanian for example) have the same origin in Latin lenguage that now is only spoken by priests. Latin America is from Mexico to Chile and Argentina, Cuba is Caribean as other Islands. Any way american because we live in the AMERICAN continent. So far is how I learned in my school. I hear to say America (calling america to the United States of America) they are not Latin, because the U.S.A. people is formed by Inmigrants since the Philligrims. The real owners are the Native America Indians. Color people was brought from Africa in a cruel slavery too. So thats the explanation for Latin Americans.

Answer 5

It is like that because Spanish has it roots in the latin language.

Answer 6

ever heard of the term 'the americas' ??
well, its only one continent, but large and long enough to make it necessary to distinguish between different zones -especially since the us is better known for locals and foreigners as AMERICA.
so, u have north america, central america and south america.
latin america usually refers to latin heritage nations, meaning the term includes mexico and central america but belize.

Answer 7

I cannot believe someone is asking this question again....it appears EVERY week.... When you type the question, all similar questionss appear immediately below your question. You should have read the answers already posted here, every week there's a guy offering a great explanation about this.....check the resolved questions, you'll find at least 200 questions similar to yours and the same explanation each time.....