Languages of New York City Map

Site Details

Italiano

Italian

Census

For over a century, the New York metropolitan area has constituted one of the largest (if not the largest of all) “Italian-speaking” cities outside of Italy. However, the majority of Italian immigrants who have arrived in New York, especially in that first major wave, were not able to speak, read, or write (standard) Italian. Most, though by no means all, came from the south, and spoke Italo-Romance languages identified primarily by hometown, popularly known (in Italian) as dialetti (dialects). The New York presence of Italian itself grew significantly across the 20th century through newspapers, radio, schools, and later waves of migration.

ubstantial Italian communities have existed across much of Brooklyn since the late 19th century, with several important initial areas of settlement near the waterfront. The neighborhoods known today as Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Gowanus retain an Italian (and occasionally Italian-speaking) presence, but after the Second World War the largest communities emerged in neighborhoods to the south such as Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, and Dyker Heights. Other Italian groups in Williamsburg and Bushwick later saw movement towards Queens and Long Island. Many postwar migrants—much more likely than those who came earlier to have been educated in Italian and to speak it in addition to local languages—also settled in large numbers in these areas, making them among the most Italian-speaking in the city.

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

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