I'm Latino, I'm Hispanic...know the difference?

[+ José Soplanucas]

Standard Spanish is actually Castillian. There is not such a thing as a Spanish language, as the territory nowadays known as Spain is the reunion of several smaller nations with their own languages. I don't know how "castellano" has become "español". Back in Argentina the name of my language class was Castellano.

[geminibear]

My sister-in-law is Mexican-American, my ex sister-in-law is Mexican-Amercian, my brother-in-law is Mexican(from Mexico) 6 of my 9 nieces and nephews are Mexican-American. My graduating class of 27, there were 8 of us with non Spanish surnames.

 

What was this thread about again?

[BSR]

Standard Spanish is actually Castillian. There is not such a thing as a Spanish language, as the territory nowadays known as Spain is the reunion of several smaller nations with their own languages. I don't know how "castellano" has become "español". Back in Argentina the name of my language class was Castellano.

In Spain, and for the most part only in Spain (I think), Spanish is referred to as "castellano" because there are four languages native to the country: Basque, Catalan, Galician, and what the rest of the world calls Spanish. I don't know if it's considered improper or disrespectful, but you rarely hear a Spaniard say "Spanish," they almost always refer to the language as "castellano."

 

Basque is a language isolate, meaning it has no connection or relationship with any other language. When I lived in Spain, I was taught that medieval French branched off into modern French and Catalan, and medieval Portuguese branched off into modern Portuguese and Galician, but Wiki says different, so who knows? All three languages incorporate a lot of Spanish vocabulary because all three areas have been part of Spain for centuries, but none is a dialect of Spanish.

 

Because all native Basque, Catalan, and Galician speakers grow up learning "castellano" (starting in kindergarten, plus most TV programming is in castellano), all are bilingual unless they dropped out of school young and had a very isolated childhood. No native castellano speakers bother to learn one of the other languages, with the odd exception of being assigned to a Catalan university. My best Spanish friend's brother had to go to Catalan-speaking university for engineering - it was either that or not go to college at all.

 

Until I read latbear4blk's post, I had no idea Spanish was referred to as castellano anywhere outside of Spain.

 

PS: even native speakers have a tough time with other dialects of Spanish. I have a Venezuelan friend (moved to the US as an adult) who I got hooked on some of the Spanish TV shows I watch. Her parents got hooked too. She says that they're constantly pausing the video & asking each other what the character just said and sometimes even have to rewind it once or twice to get it.