Italiano
Italian
South Ozone Park +2For 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.
A
ccording to Census data, Queens and Brooklyn together account for two thirds of the Italian speakers in New York City, itself the most Italian-speaking city in the U.S. Though some of these are likely to be speakers of Sicilian,, Neapolitan, and other Italian languages, many are postwar migrants who ultimately settled in areas including Astoria, Ozone Park, Corona, Douglaston-Little Neck, and Rigewood-Middle Village. Queens is also home to a few communities speaking very different northern varieties, such as Nones and Friulian.
Note that the language above may be used throughout the New York area — this is just one significant site.