Yes, after holding out far too long, I’ve gone ahead and changed the template for this blog. You’ll find that this new style is snappier, snazzier, maybe even sexier. And there are other alliterative phrases I could throw around to indicate that this one looks better.
More important, it’s user-friendly. For example, it’s now easier to post a reply to me. Just click on the “Comment” link, directly under the title of the post.
As always, however, I am not just a pretty face (although this new template just winks at you, doesn’t it?). I am concerned with matters of substance. And that brings us to today’s issue.
You’re well aware that there is a fierce argument, an unbridled debate, separating two opposing factions that express such bitter disdain for one another that the conflict between Yankees and Red Sox fans looks like a little girl’s tea party in comparison.
Of course, I’m talking about the grammatical fight over whether it is “an Hispanic” or “a Hispanic.”
“It’s clearly ‘an Hispanic,’ you fool,” one language-obsessed maniac will insist. “In the same way that we say, ‘an historic.’ It’s obvious to all but a blind Visigoth.”
“Your stupidity is surpassed only by your stubbornness,” the other grammarphile will shout. “We don’t say, ‘an hill.’ That’s clear to everyone but a mentally retarded chimpanzee.”
“Hey,” comes the rejoinder. “Your mother.”
I certainly don’t want to get between these two, who are ready to settle this with a knife fight at dawn. But I’m forced to take a stand. I am the Fanatic, after all. So after careful consideration of the linguistic, political, and aesthetic considerations, I’ve come to a conclusion.
Let’s all just say, “a Latino.”
November 23rd, 2010 on 11:43 am
You know, it really just depends on whether or not you pronounce the “H” in “Hispanic”. Same is true for the word, “historic”. After all, the reason why we see “an historic” in older print is because the English did not pronounce the “h” in “historic”. They said “an ‘istoric”, as was the case for “hour” and “hospital” as well. It’s all a matter of pronunciation.
So, if you use “an”, be sure to pronounce it as “an ‘ispanic”. It rolls off the tongue properly then. And if you use “a”, you can say “a Hispanic”.
October 26th, 2011 on 7:59 pm
I agree with Jenn, but I don’t think it’s all about pronunciation. When writing, we tend to follow the rules with “an” and “a”- “an” goes before a word that begins with a vowel, and “a” goes before one that begins with a consonant. Pronunciation is pretty loose nowadays- we can pronounce a word any way we like, but there’s really only one way to write it out.
March 3rd, 2012 on 10:56 pm
I like the last solution – a Latino/a. Never did like “Hispanic” anyway.