Neighborhood

Little Italy

Manhattan
In the Census-defined PUMA including Chinatown & Lower East Side, according to recent Census data, (in descending order) Cantonese, Mandarin, and French each have at least 1000 speakers. English and Spanish varieties are widely spoken in the area as well.
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Languages with a significant site in this neighborhood, marked by a point on the map:

Abruzzese (Orsognese)

Abruzzésë
Many immigrants from the town of Orsogna in Italy's Abruzzo region initially settled on Elizabeth Street in Little Italy. Later, the community became established in Astoria, and in 1939 seven men formed the Orsogna Mutual Aid Society at the heart of the growing Orsognesi community on 18th Street. Hundreds more Orsognesi came as refugees in the wake of the destruction brought by the Second World War. Strong ties between Astoria and Orsogna continue down to the present day. 

Calabrese

Calabrese
While many of the first Italian New Yorkers were speakers of Ligurian, Piedmontese, Lombard, and Tuscan varieties, the overwhelming majority have been southerners who spoke forms of Sicilian, Neapolitan, Calabrese, and Pugliese. Given that less than 10 percent of the population spoke the national language (Italian) at the time of unification in the 19th century, most Italian New Yorkers were speakers of these (often not mutually intelligible) "dialects" who only learned Italian later, if at all. Diversity and clustering were the norm in all the major early Italian neighborhoods, with a Neapolitan-based koine reported as a common language among southern Italian immigrants. Little Italy and Greenwich Village were the crucible, but patterns were highly specific — for example Sicilians, especially from Sambucca, on Elizabeth Street, Neapolitans and Calabrians on Mulberry; Genoese on Baxter; Tyroleans and others from the far north of Italy on 69th Street by the Hudson, and so on. The first Italians in East Harlem, arriving in 1878, were reportedly from Polla in the province of Salerno, and settled in the vicinity of 115th Street; later, there was a Barese (Pugliese) community on East 112th Street; a group from Sarno near Naples on 107th; Calabrians on 109th; immigrants from Basilicata between 110th and 115th. Soon after, Calabrians, Campanians, and Sicilians involved with constructing streets, railways, and Croton Reservoir settled in the Bronx. Important areas where second- and third-generation Italian-Americans settled, as well as post-Second World War migrants who may still know the languages have included Bensonhurst, Ridgewood, Morris Park, much of Staten Island, and numerous New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester suburbs, to name just a few. Nearly all of the substantial linguistic diversity of southern Italy has been represented at some point in the New York area, but there have also been lesser-known but still substantial groups speaking varieties from places like Lazio (e.g. Ripa) and Emilia Romagna (e.g. Piacenza), as well as individuals and a few communities speaking very different northern varieties, such as Nones and Friulian in Queens.

Gallo-Italic (Basilicata)

Gallo-Italico
While many of the first Italian New Yorkers were speakers of Ligurian, Piedmontese, Lombard, and Tuscan varieties, the overwhelming majority have been southerners who spoke forms of Sicilian, Neapolitan, Calabrese, and Pugliese. Given that less than 10 percent of the population spoke the national language (Italian) at the time of unification in the 19th century, most Italian New Yorkers were speakers of these (often not mutually intelligible) "dialects" who only learned Italian later, if at all. Diversity and clustering were the norm in all the major early Italian neighborhoods, with a Neapolitan-based koine reported as a common language among southern Italian immigrants. Little Italy and Greenwich Village were the crucible, but patterns were highly specific — for example Sicilians, especially from Sambucca, on Elizabeth Street, Neapolitans and Calabrians on Mulberry; Genoese on Baxter; Tyroleans and others from the far north of Italy on 69th Street by the Hudson, and so on. The first Italians in East Harlem, arriving in 1878, were reportedly from Polla in the province of Salerno, and settled in the vicinity of 115th Street; later, there was a Barese (Pugliese) community on East 112th Street; a group from Sarno near Naples on 107th; Calabrians on 109th; immigrants from Basilicata between 110th and 115th. Soon after, Calabrians, Campanians, and Sicilians involved with constructing streets, railways, and Croton Reservoir settled in the Bronx. Important areas where second- and third-generation Italian-Americans settled, as well as post-Second World War migrants who may still know the languages have included Bensonhurst, Ridgewood, Morris Park, much of Staten Island, and numerous New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester suburbs, to name just a few. Nearly all of the substantial linguistic diversity of southern Italy has been represented at some point in the New York area, but there have also been lesser-known but still substantial groups speaking varieties from places like Lazio (e.g. Ripa) and Emilia Romagna (e.g. Piacenza), as well as individuals and a few communities speaking very different northern varieties, such as Nones and Friulian in Queens.

Italian

Italiano
Little Italy (at first the Mulberry Bend) and then Greenwich Village were the crucible, but patterns were highly specific — for example Sicilians, especially from Sambucca, on Elizabeth Street, Neapolitans and Calabrians on Mulberry; Genoese on Baxter; Tyroleans and others from the far north of Italy on 69th Street by the Hudson, and so on. The first Italians in East Harlem, arriving in 1878, were reportedly from Polla in the province of Salerno, and settled in the vicinity of 115th Street; later, there was a Barese (Pugliese) community on East 112th Street; a group from Sarno near Naples on 107th; Calabrians on 109th; immigrants from Basilicata between 110th and 115th. In the 1920s and '30s, Italian gained ground as a language of national pride, reinforced by the innovative bilingual education programs at Benjamin Franklin High School.

Lucano

Potentino
While many of the first Italian New Yorkers were speakers of Ligurian, Piedmontese, Lombard, and Tuscan varieties, the overwhelming majority have been southerners who spoke forms of Sicilian, Neapolitan, Calabrese, and Pugliese. Given that less than 10 percent of the population spoke the national language (Italian) at the time of unification in the 19th century, most Italian New Yorkers were speakers of these (often not mutually intelligible) "dialects" who only learned Italian later, if at all. Diversity and clustering were the norm in all the major early Italian neighborhoods, with a Neapolitan-based koine reported as a common language among southern Italian immigrants. Little Italy and Greenwich Village were the crucible, but patterns were highly specific — for example Sicilians, especially from Sambucca, on Elizabeth Street, Neapolitans and Calabrians on Mulberry; Genoese on Baxter; Tyroleans and others from the far north of Italy on 69th Street by the Hudson, and so on. The first Italians in East Harlem, arriving in 1878, were reportedly from Polla in the province of Salerno, and settled in the vicinity of 115th Street; later, there was a Barese (Pugliese) community on East 112th Street; a group from Sarno near Naples on 107th; Calabrians on 109th; immigrants from Basilicata between 110th and 115th. Soon after, Calabrians, Campanians, and Sicilians involved with constructing streets, railways, and Croton Reservoir settled in the Bronx. Important areas where second- and third-generation Italian-Americans settled, as well as post-Second World War migrants who may still know the languages have included Bensonhurst, Ridgewood, Morris Park, much of Staten Island, and numerous New Jersey, Long Island, and Westchester suburbs, to name just a few. Nearly all of the substantial linguistic diversity of southern Italy has been represented at some point in the New York area, but there have also been lesser-known but still substantial groups speaking varieties from places like Lazio (e.g. Ripa) and Emilia Romagna (e.g. Piacenza), as well as individuals and a few communities speaking very different northern varieties, such as Nones and Friulian in Queens.

Neapolitan

Nnapulitano
Neapolitan, a lingua franca spoken across much of southern Italy for centuries, remained to some degree a lingua franca for the mostly southern Italian immigrants who entered New York in large numbers beginning in the late 19th century. In the following decades, Neapolitan music, particularly songs sung in Neapolitan, became big business both in Italy and New York. To some extent, local related varieties from surrounding provinces are also grouped under Neapolitan, though they remain distinct. In the New York area, this has included "Irpino" speakers such as the many Sturnese speakers from Sturno (Avellino province) who came to work in mansions on the North Shore of Long Island (later in landscaping and in light bulb factories) and now make up a significant community in Glen Cove. Likewise Long Island City's Societa Sant’ Amato Di Nusco has represented speakers of Nuscano from the town of Nusco (also Avellino).

Pugliese (Barese)

Barese
Pugliese is an umbrella term for a number of very different varieties from the southern Italian region of Puglia (or Apulia). Many communities from across the region have taken root and formed clubs in New York, especially from in and around the city of Bari, including groups from Bitetto and Conversano. Early on, Barese speakers had a strong presence first in coal and later ice delivery. Across much of southern Brooklyn, a long-established community from Mola di Bari maintains several clubs and speaks a variety broadly similar to the Casamassimese maintained by a family in Jersey City, and the Molfettese known to many in Hoboken. Writer Annie Rachele Lanzillot has written of growing up in the Bronx hearing her family's Acquavivese dialect. Noted poet Joseph Tusiani, long resident in New York, spoke and wrote in the Garganico variety from the area around San Marco in Lamis. Others may have roots in and around Foggia, with its distinct variety.

Sicilian

Sicilianu
New York City has been a major center for the Sicilian language since the late 19th century, when it was the principal language spoken by many of the millions of Italian immigrants arriving in the United States. Sicilian speakers are present, especially the older generation, in all the major Italian neighborhoods of the city (Ridgewood, Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, much of Staten Island etc.) as well in the suburbs of Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey — and the city even boasts a vibrant Sicilian-language poetry scene. Sicilian social clubs with roots in particular towns still abound, from the century-old Società Concordia Partanna in Ridgewood to the Society of the Citizens of Pozzallo in Carroll Gardens, the Castellammare del Golfo Social Club USA in Bensonhurst, and the broader Sicilian Citizens' Club in Bayonne, New Jersey. Read more here.

Taishanese

台山话
Fleeing the turmoil of civil war and enticed by the California gold rush, Taishanese immigrants from Guangdong Province in southeast China began arriving in America in 1849. Beginning in the subsequent decades, as Chinese Californians moved to New York, the Taishanese community became a major force in New York's Chinatown, remaining distinct from other Cantonese speakers such as those who later arrived in Hong Kong. Taishanese identity remains strong among old families in Chinatown, but there are also newer arrivals in hubs like Flushing.

Wenzhounese

温州话
The area in and around Wenzhou, in China's Zhejiang Province, is home to a highly distinctive Wu language (a branch of Chinese) that today is spoken all over the world, with large concentrations in France, Italy, and the U.S., especially New York City, where there are at least tens of thousands originally from the city of Wenzhou and neighboring Qingtian county. The Wenzhounese community is known for entrepreneurship, and there are a large number of Wenzhounese-owned businesses (restaurants, groceries, clothing factories etc.) across New York's many Chinese-speaking neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. The densest concentration of Wenzhounese speakers is thought to be in Queens neighborhoods like Flushing and Whitestone, where there are gatherings of the Chinese Wen Chow Association (温州同乡会) and Wenzhounese-language church services, although a strong shift to Mandarin among the younger generation is underway both in Wenzhou and in diaspora centers like New York.
Additional languages spoken in this neighborhood:
  • Sicilian
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Little Italy

Manhattan

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AbakuáAbakuá

Caribbean

  • Cuba flag
    Cuba
Lower East Side

Smallest

Liturgical
AbazaАбаза

Western Asia

  • Turkey flag
    Turkey
  • Russia flag
    Russia
49,800
Abkhaz-Adyge
Wayne (NJ)

Smallest

Residential
Abruzzese (Orsognese)Abruzzésë

Southern Europe

  • Italy flag
    Italy
Indo-European
Astoria

Small

Residential
Abruzzese (Orsognese)Abruzzésë

Southern Europe

  • Italy flag
    Italy
Indo-European
Little Italy

Small

Historical
AcehneseBahsa Acèh

Southeastern Asia

  • Indonesia flag
    Indonesia
3,500,000
Austronesian
Astoria

Smallest

Community
AcehneseBahsa Acèh

Southeastern Asia

  • Indonesia flag
    Indonesia
3,500,000
Austronesian
Elmhurst

Smallest

Residential
AdjoukrouMɔjukru

Western Africa

  • Ivory Coast flag
    Ivory Coast
140,000
Atlantic-Congo
Concourse

Smallest

Residential
AdygheК|ахыбзэ

Western Asia

  • Turkey flag
    Turkey
  • Russia flag
    Russia
117,500
Abkhaz-Adyge
Wayne (NJ)

Small

Residential
AfenmaiAfenmai

Western Africa

  • Nigeria flag
    Nigeria
270,000
Atlantic-Congo
Castle Hill

Smallest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Bedford-Stuyvesant

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Newark (NJ)

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Clifton

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Hollis

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Edenwald

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Central Harlem

Largest

Residential
African-American EnglishBlack English

Northern America

  • United States flag
    United States
45,109,521
Indo-European
Hempstead (NY)

Large

Residential
AfrikaansAfrikaans

Southern Africa

  • South Africa flag
    South Africa
  • Zimbabwe flag
    Zimbabwe
17,543,580
Indo-European
Murray Hill

Small

Community
AkanAkan

Western Africa

  • Ghana flag
    Ghana
9,231,300
Atlantic-Congo
Flatbush

Small

Residential
AkanAkan

Western Africa

  • Ghana flag
    Ghana
9,231,300
Atlantic-Congo
Shore Acres

Small

Residential
AkanAkan

Western Africa

  • Ghana flag
    Ghana
9,231,300
Atlantic-Congo
University Heights

Large

Residential

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