Languages of New York City Map

Site Details

חסידיש אידיש

Hasidic Yiddish

Williamsburg +1

Eastern Europe

United States

Israel Jewish

Census

Yiddish, the principal mother tongue of European (or Ashkenazi) Jews, has likely been spoken in the city since the 17th century, but large waves of speakers first arrived in the 19th century: initially German Jews, some of whom apparently still used now largely moribund Western Yiddish, and later large numbers of speakers of all varieties of Eastern Yiddish from across Yiddish-speaking Eastern Europe. By the early 20th century, New York City had become the largest Yiddish-speaking center in the world, with mass media, theater, and other institutions to match.

ozens of distinct Hasidic communities took root in Brooklyn after the Holocaust, which decimated and uprooted all Hasidic groups across Europe. As the communities grew, they would prove an exception to the broader shift of Yiddish speakers to English, retaining the language into the third and now fourth generations. The major centers have been Williamsburg, a world center for the Satmar Hasidic dynasty, and Borough Park, where Satmar, Bobov, and many other groups come into contact— with something similar now happening in suburban Rockland and Orange counties. Smaller numbers are in Queens, the Five Towns, and increasingly elsewhere across the metro region. The result has been what is arguably a new kind of lingua franca, sometimes called Hasidic Yiddish, based on Southern Yiddish dialects but distinctive for its English, Hebrew, and Aramaic loanwords.

Note that the language above may be used throughout the New York area — this is just one significant site.

Search Explore Data Census Info

Language	Endonym	World Region	Country	Global Speakers	Language Family	Location	Size	Status

Abakuá	Abakuá	Caribbean	Cuba			Lower East Side	Smallest	Liturgical
Abaza	Абаза	Western Asia	Turkey Russia	49,800	Abkhaz-Adyge	Wayne (NJ)	Smallest	Residential
Abruzzese	Abbruzzésə	Southern Europe	Italy		Indo-European	Astoria	Small	Residential
Abruzzese	Abbruzzésə	Southern Europe	Italy		Indo-European	Little Italy	Small	Historical
Acehnese	Bahsa Acèh	Southeastern Asia	Indonesia	3,500,000	Austronesian	Astoria	Smallest	Community
Acehnese	Bahsa Acèh	Southeastern Asia	Indonesia	3,500,000	Austronesian	Elmhurst	Smallest	Residential
Adjoukrou	Mɔjukru	Western Africa	Ivory Coast	140,000	Atlantic-Congo	Concourse	Smallest	Residential
Adyghe	К\|ахыбзэ	Western Asia	Turkey Russia	117,500	Abkhaz-Adyge	Wayne (NJ)	Small	Residential
Afenmai	Afenmai	Western Africa	Nigeria	270,000	Atlantic-Congo	Castle Hill	Smallest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Bedford-Stuyvesant	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Newark (NJ)	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Clifton	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Hollis	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Edenwald	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Central Harlem	Largest	Residential
African-American English	Black English	Northern America	United States	45,109,521	Indo-European	Hempstead (NY)	Large	Residential
Afrikaans	Afrikaans	Southern Africa	South Africa Zimbabwe	17,543,580	Indo-European	Murray Hill	Small	Community
Akan	Akan	Western Africa	Ghana	9,231,300	Atlantic-Congo	Flatbush	Small	Residential
Akan	Akan	Western Africa	Ghana	9,231,300	Atlantic-Congo	Shore Acres	Small	Residential
Akan	Akan	Western Africa	Ghana	9,231,300	Atlantic-Congo	University Heights	Large	Residential