Do you consider the Caribbean, Bahamas and Bermuda part of Latin America?

[malamute]

Bermuda and Barbados have a very high standard of living, high literacy rates. They aren't part of Latin America - never were.

[Eduardo983]

Bahamas and Bermuda are not part of Latin America because a Latin language is not widely spoken by its citizens.

By definition, a country using a Romance language (or one with a large Romance lexical input), that is also predominantly Roman Catholic, is considered culturally Latin.



Canada should technically be considered part of Latin America because French is widely spoken by its citizens.


France is part of the group of Latin European countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Romania, and Italy). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Europe


United States will become in the future part of Latin America because Latin languages are spoken by millions of its citizens, and the usage of them as second languages is increasing everyday.


There are more than 44 million citizens who speak a Latin language in United States, and many states are bilingual. Also, Latin languages are the most widely taught second languages in our public schools.





Interesting...isn`t it?



I think we are going to become a bilingual country like Canada English/Latin(French)... but in our case is going to be English/Latin (Spanish)...


For example, Miami has three official languages: English, Spanish, and Creole.


And there are also states like Texas, California, Florida, and New York where a huge percentage of its residents are bilingual and they also speak Spanish or Italian (NYC).


I am not saying that these 44 million U.S. citizens "exclusively" speak a Latin language... I am saying they are bilingual, and that will make this country part of Latin America in the future.

[BigSwede]

Maybe North America?
It's not a continent of it's own.

[bale002]

As alluded to by an above poster, languages, borders and culture, and their definitions, can change over time, for different purposes, for better and for worse.

Even geography - over eons, or even shorter periods - can change (the change in the course of a river, for example, can shape the destiny of a city, for better or for worse).

For the moment, I would consider Miami more Latin American than some Caribbean (or near Caribbean) islands mentioned in this thread, and, as mentioned, the Latin Americanization of the US may continue (or it may not).

Let me throw this out: I would consider the entire Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean area (including the southeast US from Florida to eastern Texas, as well as much of northern South America) at the least a geo-climatic unit and certainly a definable competitive political-economic theater among different political-economic units and cultures (native/Iberian European/northwest European/African/Latin American/US etc.), in this case also including Bahamas and Bermuda.

Therefore I would look at the original question more in the context of "Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean studies" than in the context of Latin American studies.

Hope this helps.

[Geography Freak]

Originally Posted by malamute

Bermuda and Barbados have a very high standard of living, high literacy rates.

So does Argentina. Does that mean it's not Latin America?

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by Eduardo983

Canada should technically be considered part of Latin America because French is widely spoken by its citizens

You need to add "in Quebec" there.

[Cornerguy1]

Originally Posted by Neutre

You need to add "in Quebec" there.

Really?

French is also widely spoken in the province of News Brunswick, Canada's only officially bilingual province. Many areas of northern Ontario and Manitoba also have strong French enclaves.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by Cornerguy1

Really?

French is also widely spoken in the province of News Brunswick, Canada's only officially bilingual province. Many areas of northern Ontario and Manitoba also have strong French enclaves.

Yes. Even in New Brunswick, the province with the second highest percentage of francophones, francophones are still a minority.

Something else that we often overlook: Being a francophone or "French" in Canada outside of Quebec, doesn't mean that French is your dominant language or the language you're most fluent in. For example one third of Franco-Ontarians no longer speak the language at home.

Btw, j'aime le franßais.

[TommyBahama]

"Latin America" is an outdated, imperialist term. Imagine North America being referred to as "Anglo America" or whatever. The Americas are a mix of cultures from the Arctic to Antarctic.In any case...those islands you mention are absolutely NOT "Latin" to any appreciable degree. I can assure you that the locals there would not appreciate/comprehend someone referring to their home as "Latin America". You'd get either a dirty look or slapped silly.

[jja100]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Just out of curiosty, I'm wondering if people consider the Caribbean islands like the Virgin Islands, Aruba, St. Thomas, Jamaica, part of Latin America? What about nearby islands technically not in the Caribbean like the Bahamas and Bermuda?

No, the Caribbean islands are not a part of Latin America. In fact, I am not quite sure why "Latins" are refered to Spanish people exclusively as our popular culture dictates. Spanish has a more distant language and ethnicity in relationship to Latin/Latium than Italian and yet no one calls Italians Latin. And the people that reside within "Latin America" in terms of genetic make up are even less so. Most have a more Indian/African genetic pool than Spanish.