This is America: Many Spanish speakers don't say 'Latinx.' Let's try 'Latine,' instead.

USA TODAY: Many Spanish speakers don't say 'Latinx.' Let's try 'Latine,' instead.

Friday, October 1

Group of friends with hands on stack. They are six persons, three boys and three girls, on their early twenties.

Many Spanish speakers don't say 'Latinx.' Let's try 'Latine,' instead.

Pronounced 'luh-TEE-neks,' 'Latinx' is an English word being used to a describe a community predominately bonded by the Spanish language.

It's been well-established that Spanish speakers are not a monolith.

We have different cultures, concerns, experiences, and statuses that dictate our lives and how we live them.

But despite differing dialects, one of the things that has bonded most of us: Our language. Spanish unites us and brings residents from multiple countries into one community. It's the tie that binds.

But how exactly is that bond defined, and who gets to name it?

Enter: Latinx.

When I first saw Latinx written down, I wasn't sure how to say it.

La-TEENKS? La-TEEN-ekees?

It wasn't until I heard a co-worker say the word aloud that I realized I was using the wrong language to try to pronounce it. It's an English word attempting to label a predominately Spanish-speaking community. And I am just going to go on the record here: That makes me uncomfortable.

An August 2020 report by Pew Research Center found most U.S. residents of Latin American descent have never even heard of the word "Latinx", and among those who have, only 3% use it.

My name is Adrianna Rodriguez, and I'm a health reporter for USA TODAY. In this edition of This is America, I'm contributing to Hispanic Heritage Month with a challenge to the words we use to describe my community – and who gets to dictate that.

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The case against Latinx

Prominent English-speaking celebrities and leaders have brought the term Latinx into the mainstream.

Merriam-Webster dictionary added it in 2018 to describe those of Latin American descent who don't want to be identified by gender, or who don't identify as being male or female.

And then it was thrust into mainstream media during the 2020 presidential election as progressive politicians began using it regularly on the campaign trail trying to appeal to a younger voting demographic.

Latinx was created as a gender-neutral alternative to "Latinos" and "Latinas," not only to be more inclusive of those who are gender nonconforming, but also to push back on the masculine default. (Plurals in Spanish, adopt the masculine form, so "Latinos" technically refers to all genders of Latin American descent.)

The term may have started the work of fixing the inherent machismo side of Latin American culture, making space for those who identify nonbinary and gender fluid, and replacing the masculine default ... But it has some problems, to say the least.

Latinx was never meant to be a permanent grammatical shift, said Rachel V. González-Martin, an associate professor in the Department of Mexican American & Latino/a studies at the University of Texas, Austin. It was meant to be a placeholder in online spaces, similar to the "@" in "Latin@" that represented both Latino and Latina.

"It was a visual statement more than a verbal statement because the 'X' is not pronounced," she explained. "That isn't how people speak, that's not part of the lexicon in Spanish."

The word transcended online spaces and began appearing in educational literature in the mid-2010's, González-Martin said, specifically in Latin American studies and history as scholars wanted to be more inclusive to those who identified as nonbinary and gender fluid.

Then the 2020 elections happened.

And boom, we have a term verbalized by and for English speakers that, again, only 3% of those with Latin American descent even use.

Vico Ortiz, a nonbinary/gender fluid actor and activist born and raised in Puerto Rico, first began using "Latinx" when they moved to the U.S. They embraced the term as they explored gender-nonconforming identities, but also noticed the English-Spanish divide.

"I realized, OK, great 'Latinx' is like one term that's gender-neutral but what are we going to do about the rest? Spanish is so gendered and male-centric. Are we going to add an 'x' to everything now?" they said. "I noticed that the only places where I saw 'Latinx' being used was in the room where everyone spoke English."

Vico Ortiz (They/Them) is a proud Latine/x non-binary/gender fluid actor/activist born and raised in Puerto Rico.

Vico Ortiz (They/Them) is a proud Latine/x non-binary/gender fluid actor who has appeared shows like "American Horror Story: 1984", the Starz award winning series "Vida," and most recently the Amazon Prime original series "Soilders or Zombies."

Sela Shiloni

'I'm speaking from the Spanish perspective'

Back home in Puerto Rico, friends and family of Ortiz used they/them pronouns in Spanish translating to "elle/le," which substituted the "O" or "A" to a gender-neutral "E." The "E" can be conjugated into any Spanish word with much more ease than the "X."

Many Spanish speakers also replace the "X" in "Latinx" with an "E" to say "Latine." Bievenides, todes, nosotres instead of bienvenidx, todx, nosotrx.

"We're trying to find something here and this is the one thus far and I'm happy with it," Ortiz said. "It includes our cultural differences, I like the idea of including all genders and all people of all walks of life, but again, I'm speaking from the Spanish perspective."

Whether people prefer using "Latinx" or "Latine," neither is perfect.

Spanish may bond most of the Latine community, but it can also sometimes divide it into a linguistic hierarchy among Latines born in the U.S. and those who migrated. In assimilating to American culture, some were forced to let go of their language and culture at a young age, which can be hard to recover if they're not able to return to their country.

"Assimilation was seen as a point of success," González-Martin said. "In a really basic sense, the 'E' could open up a lot of wounds for people."

These wounds run deep and the pressure of using a grammatically correct term can be triggering. The Royal Spanish Academy – the authority on Spanish grammar located in Madrid, Spain – rejected the term "Latinx," which can feel like another colonial imposition.

Although "Latine" may be easier to use for Spanish speakers throughout the U.S. and Latin America, not all people of Latin American descent speak Spanish. We live all over the world speaking Portuguese, French, Arabic, etc.

"Latine" also doesn't represent the rich indigenous cultures that existed before Spanish colonization. Ortiz says the term is a great next step for inclusivity, but they're looking forward to the day when the community can invent a whole new word that doesn't tie back to colonialism.

"Latinx, or Latino, or Latina, or Latine... these are all colonized terms," they said. "Colonial terms no matter what will never do justice to the people who were colonized."

So where do we go from here?

As a Latina who speaks both Spanish and English, I prefer the word "Latine" over "Latinx." But I'm not the authority on inclusive language and I don't represent the whole experience.

We started with just "Latinos" and gradually progressed over the years to "Latinos/as," "Latinx" and now "Latines." It's an evolving process that will continue to change as we include more segments of the population.

There will never be one word we all agree on because we're not a monolith. It's important to ask other Latines how they identify and be respectful of that identity.

As Ortiz had said, all these terms are a product of colonization. The ultimate goal will be to find a term that is not only gender-inclusive but also represents rich indigenous cultures and heritage.

I'm not sure what that will look like, so for now, call us "Latines."

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