Neighborhood

Morrisania

Bronx
In the Census-defined PUMA including Belmont, Crotona Park East & East Tremont, according to recent Census data, (in descending order) "Niger-Congo languages", French, Mande, and Fulani are recorded as having over 1000 speakers. Varieties of English and Spanish are widely spoken.
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Dangme

Dangme
New York is home to a large and growing Ghanaian community centered on "Little Accra" in the Bronx stretching from the Grand Concourse up to Tracey Towers, with Ghanaian English and Twi serving as widely-known lingua francas. Ashanti, Akuapem (Twi), and Fante are all considered mutually intelligible varieties of Akan. Ghanaian New Yorkers from Accra, or who spent significant time in Accra, may be Ga speakers, and in the Bronx community there are also speakers of smaller languages such as Dagaare and Dagbani. The first wave of Ghanaians came to the city after the coup in 1966, with some working with the Black Star Line (Ghana Shipping Company) as seamen, and a large number arriving starting in the 1980s. There are now smaller communities in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. Those from northern Ghana may be part of the Yankasa Association, based in the Bronx. Records indicate that many of the enslaved Africans brought to New York in the 17th and 18th centuries may have been speakers of Akan varieties.

Fulani

Pulaar
New York is home to a substantial Fulani-speaking community, based primarily in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Harlem. In West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal etc., the language is called Pulaar and the people call themselves Fulbhe. Further east (Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad etc.), the language is called Fulfulde and people call themselves Fulani. Only in Guinea do Fulani speakers constitute a majority of the national population. "Fulani" should be considered a language group with significant internal diversity, including at least 9 languages spoken in different countries with separate codes in Ethnologue. There are at least three Fuutas, or Fula regions, according to local community leader Ben Jalloh: Fuuta Jalong, Fuuta Toro, Futa Masina. Some dialect differences may come from French, Wolof, or Hausa influence. A significant number of speakers in New York come from Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania in particular, with many members of the Brooklyn community from the Fuuta Koobe around the Senegal river in present-day Mauritania and Senegal.

Ga

Ga
New York is home to a large and growing Ghanaian community centered on "Little Accra" in the Bronx stretching from the Grand Concourse up to Tracey Towers, with Ghanaian English and Twi serving as widely-known lingua francas. Ashanti, Akuapem (Twi), and Fante are all considered mutually intelligible varieties of Akan. Ghanaian New Yorkers from Accra, or who spent significant time in Accra, may be Ga speakers, and in the Bronx community there are also speakers of smaller languages such as Dagaare and Dagbani. The first wave of Ghanaians came to the city after the coup in 1966, with some working with the Black Star Line (Ghana Shipping Company) as seamen, and a large number arriving starting in the 1980s. There are now smaller communities in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. Those from northern Ghana may be part of the Yankasa Association, based in the Bronx. Records indicate that many of the enslaved Africans brought to New York in the 17th and 18th centuries may have been speakers of Akan varieties.

Jola

Joola
A portion of the city's growing Senegalese community comes from the province of Casamance, a distinct region south of The Gambia, with its own colonial history. A high degree of multilingualism is common both in Casamance and among New Yorkers from the region, with Jola the principal language and others speaking Mandjak, languages from the cluster known as Baïnounk, and the Portuguese-based Guinea-Bissau Creole.

Kabiye

Kabiye
Besides Ewe (most common since many Togolese New Yorkers hail from the south), Kabiye and Tem are two of the most widely spoken native languages of Togo, both reported to have speakers in New York. The largest Togolese contingent is in the Bronx, where the community now supports a mosque, an association, a restaurant, and other institutions.

Tagalog

Tagalog
Some of the earliest Filipino communities in the city formed around port areas and military installations, such as the Brooklyn Navy Yard and later Governors Island. Today, a section of Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside is the major center for Tagalog speakers, and speakers of other languages of the Philippines, both for New York City and for the entire U.S. east of the Mississippi. There are other concentrations in every borough — often formed near hospitals where Filipina women have been employed in healthcare work — and individual speakers throughout the city. Among the largest of the other communities are Cebuano and Ilocano speakers, and a distinctive Philippine English is also spoken by many. According to 2015-2019 American Community Survey data, 7,987 Tagalog speakers also live in Jersey City, a major community.
Additional languages spoken in this neighborhood:
  • Garifuna
  • Puerto Rican Spanish
  • Shupamem
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