In the 5th century BC e. Latin language(self-name Lingua Latina) was one of the many Italic languages spoken in central Italy. Latin was used in the area known as Latium (modern name is Latium), and Rome was one of the cities in this area. The earliest inscriptions in Latin date back to the 6th century. BC e. and are made using an alphabet based on the Etruscan script.
Gradually, Rome's influence spread to other parts of Italy, and through them to Europe. Over time, the Roman Empire conquered Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Throughout the empire, Latin came to be used as the language of law and authority, and, increasingly, the language of everyday life. The Romans were literate, and many of them read the works of famous Latin authors.
Meanwhile, in the eastern Mediterranean, Greek remained the lingua franca, and educated Romans were bilingual. The earliest examples of Latin literature known to us are translations of Greek plays and Cato's agricultural manual into Latin, dating back to 150 BC. e.
Classical Latin, which was used in early works of Latin literature, differed in many ways from colloquial, so-called Vulgar Latin. However, some writers, including Cicero and Petronius, used Vulgar Latin in their writings. Over time, the spoken variants of the Latin language moved further and further away from the literary standard, and gradually, on their basis, Italic/Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, etc.) appeared.
Even after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Latin continued to be used as a literary language in Western and Central Europe. A huge amount of medieval Latin literature appeared in a variety of styles - from scientific works of Irish and Anglo-Saxon writers to simple tales and sermons intended for the general public.
Throughout the 15th century. Latin began to lose its dominant position and title as the main language of science and religion in Europe. It has been largely replaced by written versions of local European languages, many of which are derived from or influenced by Latin.
Modern Latin was used by the Roman Catholic Church until the mid-20th century, and currently continues to exist to some extent, especially in the Vatican, where it is recognized as one of the official languages. Latin terminology is actively used by biologists, paleontologists and other scientists to name species and preparations, as well as by doctors and lawyers.
Latin alphabet
The Romans used only 23 letters to write Latin:
There were no lowercase letters in Latin. The letters I and V could be used as consonants and vowels. The letters K, X, Y and Z were used only to write words of Greek origin.
The letters J, U and W were added to the alphabet later to write languages other than Latin.
The letter J is a variant of I and was first introduced into use by Pierre de la Ramais in the 16th century.
The letter U is a variant of V. In Latin, the sound /u/ was represented by the letter v, for example IVLIVS (Julius).
The letter W was originally a double v (vv) and was first used by Old English scribes in the 7th century, although the runic letter Wynn (Ƿ) was more commonly used to represent the /w/ sound in writing. After the Norman Conquest, the letter W became more popular and by 1300 had completely replaced Wynn.
Reconstructed phonetic transcription of classical Latin
Vowels and diphthongs
Consonants
Notes
- Vowel length was not shown in writing, although modern editions of classical texts use a macron (ā) to indicate long vowels.
- The pronunciation of short vowels in the medial position is different: E [ɛ], O [ɔ], I [ɪ] and V [ʊ].
Phonetic transcription of ecclesiastical Latin
Vowels
Diphthongs
Consonants
Notes
- Double vowels are pronounced separately
- C = [ʧ] before ae, oe, e, i or y, and [k] in any other positions
- G = [ʤ] before ae, oe, e, i or y, and [g] in any other positions
- H is not pronounced except in words mihi And nihil, where the sound /k/ is pronounced
- S = [z] between vowels
- SC = [ʃ] before ae, oe, e, i or y, and in any other positions
- TI = before the vowel a and after all letters except s, t or x, and in any other positions
- U = [w] after q
- V = [v] at the beginning of a syllable
- Z = at the beginning of a word before vowels, and before consonants or at the end of a word.
Is Latin America called Latin America?” After all, in fact, this is part of the South American continent, and the term “Latin” creates associations with Europe and Ancient Rome. We will try to answer all these questions in this article, turning to historical facts and geography.
History of Latin America: Colonization and Conversion
The countries that make up Latin America were created as colonies of European states. Since the 16th century, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands have been actively seizing land. In the middle of the 19th century, the newly formed young states became financially dependent on the United States. Some island countries became colonies of the United States.
From the beginning of the 19th century, wars for independence from the colonialists began. Some of the first countries to gain freedom were Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Brazil, a former Portuguese colony, managed virtually without bloodshed. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 is widely known. Then the island states gained independence. The modern borders of Latin America were established only in the 40s of the 20th century.
Until the 20th century, the countries of Latin America were called differently: “Indo-America”, “Spanish America”, “Ibo-America”. It would be a big mistake to think that Latin America is geographically and territorially equal to South America. It includes:
- Mexico (country in North America).
- West Indies (islands).
- Mainland South America and its island states.
- Countries located on the isthmus of Central America.
This list includes Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guiana, Saint Martin, Argentina and other countries. Thus, the name “Latin” cannot be explained geographically. Its origins are related to the colonization of this region by Europeans.
The term “Latin America” itself was established in the 30s. XX century. It was invented by the French Emperor Napoleon III. This is how he decided to name those parts of the continent whose territories were inhabited by immigrants from the Iberian Peninsula and France from the 15th to the 16th centuries.
Today this is the unofficial name of a group of countries, which is firmly entrenched in scientific and public circles.
The very type of colonization of these countries is called “Latin”. The conquerors were speakers of Romance languages, originating from Latin. Therefore, the majority of the inhabitants of this region speak three languages belonging to this group: Spanish, Portuguese or French. This is the main difference between Latin America and North America, which was mastered by the Anglo-Saxons and propagated the English language.
The second reason for the name “Latin America” follows from the first: the implantation of a language foreign to the indigenous peoples took place simultaneously with their conversion to another religion - Catholicism. It is no coincidence that the Spanish conquistadors, when they first landed on the shores of future Spain, celebrated mass first. Catholic services are conducted in Latin, which is perhaps why Catholics in Russia used to be called “Latins.”
Introducing peoples to Christianity was one of the main tasks assigned to Columbus by the king and queen. Several centuries later, Latin America remains a stronghold of the Catholic Church.
Who are Latinos?
The most interesting thing is that Latinos are not all residents of Latin America, as it might seem at first. These are people who speak Spanish and Portuguese and live both in Latin America and in the USA, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Canada and other countries. Latin Americans are usually immigrants. In a number of countries they are disparagingly called Latinos. Their number is 600 million people, but this figure is approximate.
The term "Latin America" is often used to refer to all southern countries of the Americas. In Brazil, this is what the Spanish-speaking countries of their mainland are called. But knowing exactly why Latin America is called Latin, it is no longer possible to make a mistake in naming the group of countries in which Romance languages are spoken.
A review on the seemingly paradoxical topic of whether Brazilians are Latin Americans. And what does the term “Latin American” or “latinas” mean in Brazil (in Russian the spelling “latinos” is also found) and the term “Brazilian”.
We tried to find out all this by translating statements on this topic from Brazilian English-language blogs.
“Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery (1888), there has never been a widespread black movement for human rights, as there was in the United States, and there is no racial debate,” noted one Brazilian user, discussing the topic rights of black Brazilians.
Let us note that Brazil is a multicultural vibrant society, and the word “Brazilian” is consistently associated with people of different races all over the world. With. At the same time, some Brazilians also don’t really like being collectively classified as Latinos.
Here, for example, is an excerpt on this topic from a post by a Brazilian woman named Amandha on one of the Brazilian blogs, published in December 2009:
“I’m Brazilian, and we definitely don’t call ourselves Latinas, because here it’s not the right term to define the population of the entire country. Take examples from Brazilian history and you will see that we had many people who came from very different countries. My friend's parents are from Japan, he is Brazilian, but I'm sure he is not Latin. I am a mixture of German (my grandmother came from Germany) and Spanish (from my dad's father) blood, and I am white skinned. And this is the family history of at least half the population (by my count). There are many people in our country who come mostly from African countries, Italy and Japan.
In the south of Brazil, where I live, there are many white-skinned people with entire cities where people speak Polish, German and Italian as well as Portuguese.
In short, Brazilians, as far as one can tell, do not call themselves Latino because most Brazilians do not look Latino. And the word “Latino” is not perceived very well here. It's a cultural thing and we don't like to be defined as Latinos. Especially because we simply have no such thing as Latin America. We teach in school that there are South, Central and North America. But there is no Latin America.”
At the same time, user Eduardo commented on Amandha’s statement:
“When they (in the outside world) call us “Latinos,” they no longer mean the color of our skin. “Latinas” are all people who speak languages derived from Latin, such as Portuguese, Spanish, etc. People who were born in Spain are Hispanic too. So I think they (those who call us “Latinos”) are right.”
Brazilians have a southern, Latin American temperament.
Ill. from the archive: a capoeirista at a carnival procession.
This was echoed by user: Leigh:
“In fact, the term “Latino” is supposed to be used to define any person from Latin America, regardless of their race or ethnicity. In the US, the term is incorrectly used for non-white people of Spanish or Portuguese descent..
Although it is correct to call all Latin Americans this way. The term "Latino" was originally intended for people from Latin America, who actually officially exist - look in the encyclopedia. So people from Spain and Portugal are not Hispanic. Of course, part of this question contains prejudices, because... many white Latinos do not want to be classified as non-white. In Latin America, where racial discrimination once began, it is difficult to get rid of it. And it is not true that the majority of people in Brazil are of European race. About 40 percent of the population, maybe even 40% or more, is said to be black or mulatto."
But the RAL user appealed to encyclopedias, trying to find the answer to what Latin America is:
“For your information, what is considered Latin America, geographically speaking?
Any part of the Americas where a Latin (Romance) language, in the form of Spanish or Portuguese, is the dominant language is considered Latin America. This term also essentially includes the southern United States.
In other words, from Mexico to La Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), this is all Latin America.”
At the end of our review, a very informative message on the topic under consideration from user jack21k:
“By the way, in Brazil people speak Portuguese, but not Spanish. Thus, Brazilians are not Hispanics.
Also, Brazilian is not a race or ethnicity. This is citizenship. If you don't think there is an American race, why do you say there is a Brazilian race? Brazil, Australia, Canada and the USA are all countries founded by immigrants. . Thus, to say that there is a Brazilian race (nationality) does not make sense...
Information on the topic:
Latin Americans and Latin America: definitions in encyclopedias
English-language encyclopedias define Latin Americans (Spanish "latinoamericano", Portuguese "latino-americano") as citizens from Latin American countries and dependent territories. English-language Wikipedia notes that “Latin American countries are multinational”. This source notes that due to multi-ethnicity Some Latinos have problems with national identification.
This means that it is difficult for Latinos to choose what to focus on in terms of ethnicity: country, parental origin, race or skin color. For example, in Brazil, a mulatto may have ancestors of a white Portuguese colonist and a black slave brought from Africa, but still feel like a Brazilian.
Latin American countries are divided into states with a predominantly Caucasian population - Argentina and Uruguay (80% of the population belongs to the European race), countries with strong Indian influence (Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Bolivia. Mexico) and countries with a majority of mulattoes and blacks (like Brazil And, where mulattoes predominate, or Haiti. But in the Haitian case it is predominantly the black population that dominates).
In turn, the countries of Latin America usually mean states and territories where Romance (in other words, Latin languages) dominate, namely Spanish and Portuguese. At the same time, the Romanesque French minority of Canada and the United States, as well as the southern United States with its Spanish-speaking population in general, are not included in Latin America, since these territories are considered to belong to the Anglo-Saxon world.
For more information about the origins of Latin American countries, see our website;
(Prepared by Monitoring website)
Americans in the United States are the greatest patriots, but at the same time they place incredible importance on heritage. People in the US know and keep track of race, nationality, etc. their ancestors...
This is why we have the terms "German-Mexican Americans". This doesn't happen in Brazil. Children of German immigrants born in Brazil consider themselves Brazilians, but not Germans or German Brazilians. They will say that my father is German, but they will never say that I am German or that I am a Brazilian of German descent.
Latino/Latin Americans is an interesting example. In the US, when people hear this word, they immediately associate it with race or ethnicity. In Brazil, the term "Latino" only means that a person was born in Latin America. In Brazil there is no connection between this word and race or ethnicity. If you ask peopleon the street in Brazil, if they are Latino, then they will answer: “no”. Or maybe they will even say that they don't know what it means. By the way, we don't use this name "Hispanic" as often as people in the US or other countries. We usually say South, Central and North America. It's a little jarring that Latin America isn't a continent, it's only a geographic region that originally denotes Mexico when viewed from North America.
To understand the differences in racial attitudes across countries, let's look at history. Immigrants came to the United States with their families, and interracial marriage was almost a crime here for some time. On the other hand, in Brazil many immigrants were single men, because... Brazil was not considered a place where people expected to build a new life, but only a place to try to earn money and return to Europe.
This only began to change in the second half of the 19th century, when immigrants from Japan and some European countries, excluding Portugal, began to arrive in Brazil.
Thus, at the beginning of the period of colonization by European immigrants, “marriages” took place between them and non-white wives, mainly black slaves, but also girls from Indian tribes. In this context, interracial marriages were tolerated due to the insufficient number of single (European) women in the colony. All of the above factors contributed to the fact that society in the United States became more divided along national and racial lines, while in Brazil, race was not a huge issue and national origin was not very important. Supporting this argument is that people in Brazil will determine someone's race based on the person's appearance rather than on their ancestors.
Finally, the biggest lesson I learned is that racial and ethnic definitions and classifications change from country to country, and in the end they are not important. Race is a concept not even (fully) recognized by science. In general, these racial-ethnic discussions, or otherwise debates, only divide people,” the blogger noted.
What conclusions can be drawn from the above statements:
2. 1. Brazilians do not like to be called Latin Americans, because outside the country this word includes belonging to a certain dark-skinned Caucasian type. While in Brazil there are blacks, white-skinned people of German blood, and Indians., i.e. in the area south of the United States. At the same time, Brazilians often use the name “South America” instead of “Latin America”.
3. Brazilians like to think that there is a nation of “Brazilians”. While abroad I still don’t fully accept this T. At the same time, this fact is supported by the huge percentage of mixed marriages in the country. Moreover, from the very moment of the beginning of its colonization by Europeans, due to the fact that many European immigrants during the development of the country were single men without families and without the opportunity to find a wife from Europe. Brazil at the time of exploration was not considered a place where people expected to build a new life, but only a place to try to earn money and return to Europe. That's why European girls didn't go there. They went to the USA with their families and their traditional national way of life. Therefore, the United States remembers more about its national roots, but at the same time, the long-standing principles of democracy have led to equal rights among nations. At the same time, in Brazil there is national unity, but people are divided along social lines, which was facilitated by the long-existing hierarchical system of Brazilian society, introduced, including for Europeans, during the time of Portuguese colonization. In contrast to the principles of democracy of the first settlers in the future USA.
Hispanics are citizens of Latin American countries; they should not be confused with Hispanics in the USA or Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans or disparagingly Latinos, the largest national-linguistic minority in the United States. Latinos often include all residents of Latin America, with the exception of countries where English, German and Dutch are dominant. In contrast, residents of the French colonies are equated with Latin Americans, including those from Haiti, Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, the Dominican Republic and Grenada. Latin Americans are united by a common past, historical origin, kinship to the Spanish and Portuguese empire of the 16-18 centuries; Latin Americans today are the descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors.
Latino religion
The majority of Latin Americans are ardent Catholics, this is their difference from the Anglo-Saxon population of the USA and Canada, which are Protestants. It is worth noting that in religious Latin America today the percentage of atheists, agnostics or representatives of other religions and sects is growing. Islam is growing in particular, which came here with the inhabitants of India and the Arabs. There are quite a few Muslims in Mexico, as well as in the US territories of Texas and California.
Races and Ethnicities in Latin America
The Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors turned out to be friendlier people compared to the British, the Anglo-Saxons almost completely slaughtered the indigenous population in the territory of the modern USA and Canada, but where the Spaniards and the Portuguese ruled, the local tribes slowly became related to the Europeans, resulting in the Latin Americans, the result of racial cultural mixing. Today, the racial and genetic composition in Latin America varies significantly across countries with combinations of European, African, Native American and even Asian genes. After all, not only the Spaniards and Portuguese arrived in Latin America, but also Jews, Arabs, gypsies, black slaves from Africa; in the 19th and 20th centuries, people from other European countries appeared here, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Croatia.
About 80% of Latin Americans are mestizos, the result of a mixture of Indians and white Europeans. The indigenous people of Latin America today represent the majority of the population, only in Peru and Bolivia, in Guatemala the Indians are two-fifths of the population, in Mexico 14%, but in absolute numbers this is the largest part of the Indians in the Western Hemisphere. The Indian population remains in every country in Latin America, but with the exception of the countries listed above, they do not exceed 10% of the total population.
There are many Asians in Latin America, the first Asians to appear were natives of the Philippines, but most of the modern descendants are former Japanese and Chinese, and mainly live in Brazil and Peru, and the Chinese minority is also actively growing in Panama today. According to some estimates, about 2 million Chinese and their descendants live in Brazil.
Latin America is home to the largest Japanese community of 1.5 million people, with about 100 thousand ethnic Koreans in Argentina and Mexico. About 1.47 million Asians live in Peru, for example, this country had a Japanese president. The main population of Martinique is of Afro-White-Indian origin. Guadeloupe has a 14% East Indian population.
Blacks were brought to Latin America as slaves starting in the 16th century, most of them were sent to the Caribbean and Brazil, so in Brazil today more than 10 million people are black, in Haiti more than 7 million, many blacks in Puerto Rico, on Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia. The mixed black and white population was called mulattoes; there were significantly more of them than pure blacks.
Population of Latin American countries
The most populated country in the Latin American region is Brazil 192272890 people, followed by Mexico 112322757, Colombia 48219645, Argentina 40134425, Venezuela 33221865, Peru 29461933, Chile 17063000, Ecuador 13625000.
Mestizo Hispanics
In Ecuador, 78% of the population is mestizo, in Peru 72%, Nicaragua 66%, El Salvador 64%, Mexico 60%, Bolivia 60%, Honduras 56%, Panama 55%. The fewest mestizos are in Uruguay 6%, Brazil 18%, Argentina 20%, Chile 26%.
White Hispanics
The whitest country in Latin America is Uruguay, where 78% of the population identifies as white without any other admixture. Next comes Argentina 68%, Chile 60%, Costa Rica 46%, Brazil 45%, Paraguay 35%, Venezuela 30%, Colombia 29%, Guatemala 17%, Panama 15%, Honduras 14%, Dominican Republic 12%, El Salvador 10%, Mexico 10%, Nicaragua 8%, Peru 7%, Ecuador 6%, Bolivia 4%.
Black Latinos
The majority of blacks are in the Dominican Republic 27%, Brazil 15%, Panama 11%, Venezuela 7%. There are practically no blacks in Bolivia, Mexico, Chile, at least the percentage is very low, the distribution is exactly the same among mulattoes.
Asians Latinos
The Asian population is most represented in Panama with 4%, with 2% each in Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
Indians Latin Americans
In Guatemala 44% of the population are Indians, in Bolivia 27%, Mexico 15%, Honduras 12%. There are practically no Indians in Argentina and Uruguay, here they are only about 1%.
Latin American languages
Latin Americans speak well Romance languages, and indeed all languages that originate from Latin, including Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French. Again, there is no need to confuse Latinos in the United States and Latinos living in Latin American countries; the difference is that naturalized Latinos already speak English, especially since the first generation born in the United States does not fully speak Romance languages.
Most Latin American countries are Spanish-speaking, with Portuguese spoken by the largest country in the region. They speak Dutch, French in , English in Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica.
60% of the population of Latin America considers Spanish their first language, 34% Portuguese, 6% of the population speak other languages such as Quechua, Mayan, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, English, French, Dutch and Italian. Portuguese is spoken only in Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese). Spanish is the official language of most of the rest of Latin America, as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico (where it has equal rights with English), and the Dominican Republic. French is spoken in Haiti and in the French overseas departments of Guiana, the French overseas community, and French is also spoken in. Dutch is the official language in , and . Dutch is a related language to Germanic, so these areas are not necessarily considered part of Latin America. Mexico is the only country that boasts a wider variety of indigenous languages than any other Latin American country, the most widely spoken Amerindian language in Mexico being Nahuatl.
In Peru, the Quechua Indian language is the official language. There is no official language in Ecuador. In Bolivia, the Indian languages Aymara, Quechua and Guarani have official status along with Spanish. Guarani, along with Spanish, is the official language of Paraguay. In , Spanish is the official language. Colombia recognizes all indigenous languages spoken by local residents.
Other European languages that are common in Latin America are English, spoken by some groups in Puerto Rico, and in neighboring countries that are not considered Latin America, such as Belize and Guyana. German in southern Brazil, southern Chile, parts of Argentina, Venezuela and Paraguay. Italian in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay. Ukrainian and Polish in the southern part of Brazil, in the southern part of Argentina. Yiddish and Hebrew in the vicinity of Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. Japanese in Brazil and Peru, Korean in Brazil, Arabic in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, Chinese throughout South America. Creole is the most common language in the Caribbean.
