What is the difference between Hispanic and Spanish?

Answer 1

Hispanics are either from a Spanish-speaking country or are descended from someone who is. Castilian is a language, that is spoken in Spain and in Latin America. A Spanish person is a person from Spain, only, not from any other country. A person who speaks Spanish is not necessarily from Spain, and therefore cannot necessarily be called "Spanish," but instead would be called Hispanic, or as some prefer, Latino(a).

The real language spoken in Spain and Latin America is Castilian - North Americans call it Spanish (Castellano is the official language spoken in Spain and Latin America). Mexicans have distorted the language with their dialects.

Note: An important issue with this vocabulary is that the words Hispanic and Spanish are used incorrectly in the United States of America. The word Hispanic is derived from Hispania which was the name given to the Iberian peninsula by Romans in ancient times. In the 1970's in the USA the government used the word Hispanic to refer to people who have a link to a former colony of Spain in the Americas. I must add that the term Latino and Latin American is used incorrectly as well by the USA and by members of the Spanish American community because of lack of education.

Latin is the Language of the Romans and modern Latin countries are countries whos culture and customs derive heavely from the Latin Romans. Latin people are Spanish (Spain) Italians, Romanians, French and all countries that speak a Latin derrived language.

Latin America was a term coined by Napolen III when the french colonies in America seeked to unite other Latin countries and people in the America ( Spanish America) against the English colonies. It is important to understand that in order to see the a Latin person can be anyone from a French man to a Mexican national and the term includes French Quebec as well as Portuguese speaking Brazil and French speaking Haiti.

Due to misinformation and lack of education we associate dark skin and dark hair as an identifier of Latin people in the USA when in reality these are Native American traits displayed in some groups due to historical situations. The French as the Spanish sent men to the Americas with no women and they in reaction married many Native American women ( First nation Women) in some regions and African women in others, so the English term Spaniard vs Spanish is really a creation of the English speaking people as it does not exist in proper Spanish. Espanol+ Spanish Espanol+ Spaniard, however in the USA it is used to make a distinction between Spanish Americans

(Latino's) such as the stereotypical Mexican and a European Spanish ( Spaniard). It is a long tradition of racism that stems from the conflicts between Spain and English rivalry back in Europe.

So in conclusion the terminology Hispanic and Latino is used incorrectly in the USA and the media and needs to be revised. Many people in Spanish America may be of mix ancestry, none Spanish ancestry, or African, Aboriginal, Asian ancestry or European ancestry. *(1) [In response to "Spanish American"..] Some of the information you are providing is wrong, based on ignorance, as a matter of fact. First of all, original Castilian dialect is not spoken anywhere else in the world other than the former Castilla Region and northern Spain. Second, Mexico has the most accurate Spanish language--along with Spain, of course--than anywhere else where Spanish is spoken. It is the exact proper Spanish as denoted by the Spanish Royal Academy. Third, the only dialects spoken in Mexico are the thousands of versions of indigenous languages still surviving remotely in protected areas. Fourth, Mexico is the cultural center and most important country in all of Latin America and out of all Spanish-speaking countries in the world. Fifth, Portuguese are NOT Hispanics. Sixth, full-blood Spaniards born in the Americas are called Criollos.

Answer 2

Spanish refers to people specifically from Spain, or to the language spoken in Spain and in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

People who are from Mexico or Central or South America are mosthly decents from Spanish people, but they are called latin Americans or hispanic because we speak the castilian language

Answer 3

"Hispanic" refers to people who come from countries where Spanish is spoken, whereas "Spanish" specifically refers to people from Spain or the Spanish language itself. So all Spanish people are Hispanic, but not all Hispanic people are Spanish.