talian English is what linguists sometimes call an "ethnolect", a sometimes distinct variety of English spoken by Italian Americans, with influence from (especially Southern) Italian varieties. Many who use it are native speakers either of Italian languages (sometimes called "dialetti") like Sicilian or Italian itself. While the majority of Italian immigrants to the New York area were native speakers of forms of Sicilian, Neapolitan, Calabrese, and Pugliese, there was widespread shift to English and to some extent Italian in the subsequent generations. Today, major areas for Italian English include Bensonhurst, Middle Village, Morris Park, Dyker Heights, and much of Staten Island.