I have a dumb history question I’m too lazy to research.

[Lester C.]

Why don't people from Latin America speak Latin?

[JuggernautRM]

Don't know if this is an accurate answer. But this is my perception of why they call it Latin America.

As you know, Spanish, Italian, and French are all romantic languages, meaning they all have roots in Rome, which was a Latin speaking country.

The Spanish were the ones who originally colonized South America so the spanish language spread through south america and central america.

Now the US uses english, which has roots in Latin, but is predominatly a germanic language, so people in the US called central and south america Latin America to differentiate themselfs from the spanish speaking colonies.

[Noah Johnson]

Why don't people from Latin America speak Latin?
They do. They speak the debased mutant form of Latin used on the Iberian peninsula. You might know it as "Spanish".

[CanaryNoir]

Now the US uses english, which has roots in Latin, but is predominatly a germanic language, so people in the US called central and south america Latin America to differentiate themselfs from the spanish speaking colonies.

English doesn't have it's roots in Latin; it has its roots in old Germanic and Celtic languages (Anglo-Saxon from the Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes, etc.). Old English has virtually no Latinate influence. And, for those who aren't aware, Chaucer isn't Old English, it's Middle English (post-Norman invasion) which is why you can sort of read it as it is much, much closer to modern English. You can't read Old English without a dictionary. (I took Old English in college).

Latin came into the English language with the Norman invasion -- Normans = French; French is a Latinate (or Romance) language. I wouldn't say English is predominately either Germanic or Latinate as it is quite the mash-up of both.

[Cam63]

Why don't people from Latin America speak Latin?

Speaking Spanish will get you laid quicker than that old Roman crap.

[Dr Ray Palmer]

They do. They speak the debased mutant form of Latin used on the Iberian peninsula. You might know it as "Spanish".

Or Portuguese, which is like Spanish crossed with Venusian and is therefore the coolest of all the Romance languages.

[the4thpip]

English doesn't have it's roots in Latin; it has its roots in old Germanic and Celtic languages (Anglo-Saxon from the Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes, etc.). Old English has virtually no Latinate influence. And, for those who aren't aware, Chaucer isn't Old English, it's Middle English (post-Norman invasion) which is why you can sort of read it as it is much, much closer to modern English. You can't read Old English without a dictionary. (I took Old English in college).

Latin came into the English language with the Norman invasion -- Normans = French; French is a Latinate (or Romance) language. I wouldn't say English is predominately either Germanic or Latinate as it is quite the mash-up of both.
My English linguistics professor used to say that English is a pidjin language, really.