Why is central america and south america called latin america?

No, but they do speak Spanish and Portuguese, which are both descended from Latin. Hence the term “Romance languages” which you might also be familiar with?

but in Quebec, we speak french, which is also derived from latin, so why dont we call quebec latin america?

I don’t know Zack, I’m not majoring in Quebec. ;-)

ok, i’ll take some guesses.

quebec is a city, not a continent plus some?

of course you could still call it a ‘latin city’. but on the other hand, i’m told they also speak english in quebec, which is a germanic language, so that wouldn’t be very accurate.

on the other other hand, they speak many indigenous languages in latin america, so that’s not very accurate either.

here’s a new one, they call “latin america” for convenience, to lump all the countries south of the U.S. and those in south america including brasil together because they share many characteristics, and quebec doesn’t share those? or maybe they are just perceived to share these characteristics, and again, quebec isn’t perceived the same way.

that’s all i’ve got right now. basically it’s a bunch of bullshit, but i can bullshit some logical reasons for it too…

im just trying to spark a discussion. bullshit works :D.

quebec is a province, and inside it, theres a city with the same name

is it called quebec city or something like that or just quebec? how can i know which one is being referred to without any context? (i’m not trying to argue with you in any way—i’m trying to become informed)

its kinda similar to mexico. mexico city is the capital. just add city after. and when in the context of politics, quebec city can be called quebec, because it represents the province.

just a tidbit: and quebec city acted as the center of quebec (with the exception of montreal). so, this year is the 400th anniversary of quebec city, and therefore quebec. quebec city, then named hochelaga was the 1st permanent settlement in what is now canada, and the 2nd permanent settlement in north america, following jamestown. it was founded in 1608. i got 98% in canadian and quebec history, 100% on the final exam

sorry but no one really calls mexico city just “mexico” for short. if someone is going to shorten it, they would say “DF” (pronounced ‘Day Ef-fey’) similar to the way people say DC for Washington DC. perhaps a better analogy would be new york city. a lot of people just call it ‘new york.

so, it’s officially called “Quebec City” though? and i’m not supposed to pronounce it with a “kw” sound but just a “kuh” sound—that’s what i was told…is that true?

it depends on your accent, but generally, it is ke-bec. there is one demographic, i noticed (and i absolutely hate their attitude towards canada, like, “do you know sally?” or “do you live in an igloo?” people—mainly from texas or georgia(the people who i’ve met, anyways)) who pronounce it kwe-bec.

new york sound like a better analogy.

My family is Ecuadorian… we only call South America by Latin America. Maybe that’s just us. Dunno.

I should add, we almost never use Latin America, we usually specify central or south.

Ke-bec is how you would say it if you were French-speaking, which is why people from
Texas and Georgia pronounce it Kwe-bec: to make sure you don’t think they’re gay.

was that terrible of me to say?

susanc, it was amusing.

i also find it amusing that i live in texas, and i’m the one who brought up the correct pronunciation.

Exactly!!! if you see what I mean.

that i do :)

@mtl zach – When I moved from Colorado to New York, people asked me if people rode around on horses out west. in the 1990s.

According to this site the French came up with the term “Latin America”:

The French wanted to dilute the Spanish influence in the region and erase the idea of “Hispanic America.” The French decided against the name “Francoamerica” out of fear that it might boomerang. So they chose the name “Latin America” under the pretext that Spaniards, also, came from the Roman world and, therefore, were included in the Latin concept, which had given origin to France’s culture as well.

Damn it! Having just learned I have a splash of French in addition to my German, Czech, Spanish roots… this make my internal struggle that much more serious.

I will never find peace

;)

nice, fireside!