Stop Anglicizing the Spanish Language

The use of Latinx needs to stop. Using this word only fuels the anglicization of Latin culture forced upon Latin people. The phrase Latinx gained traction in the early 2000’s to be used as a gender-neutral alternative to the traditional Latino or Latina. The problem with Latinx isn’t in the intent to provide an inclusive alternative to nonbinary or transgender people, it is with the anglicization of a word that does not belong to the English language.
A 2021 poll, conducted by Bendixen & Amandi International, found that 40% of registered voters who identified as Hispanic or Latino were bothered or offended by the use of Latinx. It adapts the words Latino and Latina to fit the English language and does not consider the impact that forcing this word has on Spanish speakers. The majority of words containing the letter “x” in Spanish do not make the sound that Latinx aims to make. Additionally, very few Spanish words end with two consonants, making Latinx awkward to pronounce when speaking Spanish. This term favors Latin Americans who are fluent in English and can pronounce it with ease, ignoring the difficulties it provides for people whose first language is not English.
Junior Rebeca Ventura commented that she prefers the term “Latine because not only does it blend nicely with the preexisting culture but it also looks and sounds better.” Unlike Latine, Latinx completely ignores the already existing grammar rules of the Spanish language. Spanish is reliant on gender binaries, meaning the suffix of words is dependent on whether the thing they are describing is masculine or feminine. If “x” is added to the end of Latin to make it more inclusive, does every adjective have to be adopted to this standard? Furthermore, there are already words in Spanish, such as intelligente, that end with a neutral ending that doesn’t change regardless of whom it is referring to. Sophomore Josefine Eggleton commented, “Latine is very smart as adding the e to the end neutralizes the language while still having it mesh.”
The intent of Latinx is good willed, however, the execution is terrible. Junior Étienne Meléndez Santiago explained that Latinx “has kind of been claimed by white culture as a way to earn diversity points with Latin people when it doesn’t accurately represent them.” Many of these people using this word may not even realize the impact. The use of Latinx has to stop altogether unless someone explicitly states that is the only term they want to be identified with.