Why is Central America also called Latin America?
Latin American refers not only to Central America, but also South America, the Carribean, and Mexico (which Glenn correctly pointed out is part of North America). Central America and those other areas are referred to as Latin America because the primary languages of those areas are Spanish and Portugues (in Brasil) – both of which are languages descended from Latin. The distinction is basically used to refer to those countries that aren’t the U.S.A. or Canada. This distinction is important for not only linguistic reasons, but because it also reflects cultural and economic differences Note: French is also descended from Latin and is spoken in parts of Canada as well as parts of the Carribean and South America. However, French Canada is not considered part of Latin America.
