Over the two-decade span from 1990 to 2010, the U.S. populationincreased by 53 million. About 86 percent of this increase wasdriven by “multicultural” segments--mainly Hispanics and Asians. Toput your practice into the flow of U.S. population growth, youshould build these segments into your marketing plan. A good placeto start is to get the lingo right.

Here is an example where word choice was not appropriate for theaudience: During the 2012 Presidential election campaign,Republican candidate Mitt Romney attended a Latino Forum sponsoredby the Hispanic television network Univision in Miami, at which heresponded to a question by saying: “For those young people that arealready here, that are undocumented, that were brought here bytheir parents and therefore are illegal aliens in this country, myview is that we should put in place a permanent solution.”

Although such language has become standard campaign rhetoric,the term “illegal alien” is offensive to many Hispanics, thefastest growing multicultural segment in America. Many prefer todescribe this situation as “undocumented.” When discussing anundocumented child brought to the U.S. at a young age, they preferthe term “DREAMer” – after the DREAM Act that would offer suchchildren a path to documentation and citizenship. Whether or notthe DREAM Act ever passes Congress, the term has become a fixturein the new multicultural American vocabulary.

Likewise, it is incorrect (and might be offensive) to describeall people in this segment as “Hispanics.” Technically, a Hispanicperson has cultural roots in Spain, while a Latino is from a LatinAmerican culture. It is considered good etiquette to inquire whichof these terms is preferred by each individual.

To be courteously precise, some women of Latin American origin(such as U.S. Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor) prefer the feminine“Latina.” However, many people of Mexican origin prefer to becalled “Mexican-Americans.”

Multicultural segments can be defined by race(African-American), country of origin (Hispanic), culturalbackground (Latino) or religion (Muslim), and it’s important to besensitive to how each segment thinks of itself. For example:

• Most people with cultural roots in China prefer to be called“Chinese” rather than “Asians.”

• About eight million foreign-born white people live in the U.S.Most prefer to be identified by their national origins--e.g.,Lithuanian, Polish.

• Not all black people in the U.S. are “African-American.” Someidentify themselves as Afro-Caribbean or Black-Hispanic.

Key point: Study your target markets and learnthe lingo they prefer and feel comfortable using. When in doubt,ask!

Last month, AARP released an informative survey about theretirement-related concerns of African-Americans over age 50,which you might find useful in marketing to this segment.