Neighborhood

Murray Hill

Manhattan
In the Census-defined PUMA including Murray Hill, Gramercy & Stuyvesant Town, according to recent Census data, (in descending order) French, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, and Hindi each have at least 1000 speakers. English, Spanish, and Korean 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:

Afrikaans

Afrikaans
Several thousand South African New Yorkers live in neighborhoods across the city — besides South African English, there are at least small numbers of speakers of Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Northern Sotho (also spoken in Lesotho), Ndebele (also spoken in Zimbabwe), Swati (also spoken in Eswatini), and Tswana (also spoken in Botswana). All are official languages of South Africa today, testifying to an extraordinary multilingualism also embodied by comedian and New York resident Trevor Noah, who reportedly speaks (a distinctly South African-inflected) English, Afrikaans, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Catalan

Català
Like most Spanish immigrants in the late 19th century, Catalans originally flocked to the West Village, alongside Asturians and Galicians. Most immigrated either directly from Catalonia or via Cuba, particularly after the latter became a U.S. territory in 1898 folloing the Spanish-American War. In 1920 NYC saw its first casal — a Catalonian government-funded society created to promote Catalan culture abroad. In the 1940s, a politically active casal grew from the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, transporting and promoting anti-Franco sentiment across the Atlantic. Today, one member of the Catalan community estimates that roughly 3,000 Catalans inhabit the metropolitan New York area, primarily in Manhattan and Brooklyn as well as New Jersey suburbs like Montclair and Maplewood. The group is small but active, connected by a calendar of annual celebrations such as the Festival of Sant Jordi in April and Sant Joan in June and with the Institut Ramon Llull as one focal point.

Chadian Arabic

لهجة تشادية
A broad representation of the world's Arabic varieties, as used by Muslims, Christians, and Jews from West Africa to Iraq, can be found across the metropolitan area — although many of them are mutually unintelligible with each other, speakers are able to communicate in the Modern Standard Arabic known as al-fuṣḥā ("the purest", and there is often widespread familiarity with larger varieties like Egyptian Arabic. In the second half of the 20th century, what had been primarily a Levantine Arabic speaking community (by then mostly in Brooklyn) was joined by significant numbers of Egyptian Arabic and Yemeni Arabic speakers, as well as smaller numbers of many other varieties found throughout the city. Significant Arabic-speaking areas include Bay Ridge, Astoria, the Bronx (for West African Arabic speakers), Yonkers, and Paterson, New Jersey. Classical (or Qu'ranic) Arabic flourishes widely at mosques like the Islamic Cultural Center on the Upper East Side and the Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens as well schools like Al-Noor in Brooklyn. Jewish varieties of Arabic, often linked to the local variety of the particular country of origin, are still spoken to some degree among the sizeable Middle Eastern and North African Jewish communities in the city, especially in Brooklyn.

Chuukese

Chuuk
Chuukese people account for roughly 50% of the Micronesian population, constituting the nation's largest ethnic group. The first group of Micronesians to arrive in New York, largely students, were Chuukese speakers. Only a handful lived in the city through the 60s and 70s, but with the 1986 Compact of Free Association between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) the U.S. loosened travel restrictions, and some Chuukese moved to New York for periods of extended work and even permanent residence. While Albany and areas of Connecticut hold tight-knit Chuukese communities of 200+ people, NYC's Micronesian community remains spread out and small, with under 10 speakers, according to an estimate from one community member who works at the United Nations.

Classical Armenian

Գրաբար
The earliest substantial Little Armenia in Manhattan, Murray Hill is today still home to three major Armenian churches representing some of these complex, historically rooted denominational differences, as well as the famous food emporium Kalustyan's. St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church of Long Island is a major institution serving the Armenian community in eastern Queens.

Dhivehi

ދިވެހި
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the UN estimates that 40 Maldivians live in the US, fewer than 20 of which are in New York City. All are bilingual in Dhivehi, the national language, as well as English, and the majority live in Brooklyn, but are not clustered in a specific neighborhood. Dhivehi has two primary dialects, one spoken by those on the Southern Maldives, and the other in the central and northern islands, as well as in the nation's capital Malé. While speakers of the Southern dialect reportedly have no trouble understanding northeners, the opposite is not always the case.

Esperanto

Esperanto
The most popular constructed language in the world, Esperanto has a strong community in New York. Since 1905, the Esperanto Society of New York has been celebrating and spreading the language among enthusiasts. Likewise, Esperanto Por UN advocates for recognition by connecting the Universal Esperanto Association with the United Nations in New York. The Esperanto community celebrates their biggest holiday in December, honoring the birthday of L.L. Zamenhof, Esperanto's creator. Zamenhof invented the language in 1887 with the intention of creating an easy-to-learn, exception-free, and therefore egalitarian language.

Estonian

Eesti
Estonians began immigrating to the United States in significant numbers after the turn of the 20th century: first, Estonian farmers, followed by post-Second World War refugees, and then a later group during the last years of the Soviet Union. Run by the Estonian Educational Society, Manhattan's New York Estonian House, which dates back to 1929, hosts numerous events as well as its own school to educate children about Estonian language and culture, as well as Estonian singing and folk dance groups and a local Estonian-language newspaper office. Speaker Tauri Pilberg reports that in Astoria, besides himself, some 10-20 Estonians he knows live "roughly in the area between Northern Boulevard and Ditmars [Boulevard], [from] Crescent Street to about 50th Street." The language is still spoken to some extent by second- and third-generation Estonian New Yorkers.

Fijian

Na Vosa Vakaviti
Pacific Islanders speaking Samoan, Tongan, and Fijian reside in all five boroughs of NYC, though the majority live on Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island, according to one community member. The UN Permanent Missions to various Polynesian and Melanesian nations act as both political and cultural organizations in New York, supporting shows from visiting Islanders and working with museums like The Met and The Queens Museum to curate exhibits featuring "Pac Island" culture and artifacts. The East Village’s "Kavasutra Kava Bar" attracts many Samoans, Tongans, and Fijians who drink the kava (itself a Tongan word meaning "bitter") imported from Vanuatu.

Gilbertese

Kiribati
Gilbertese, a vigorous Austronesian language of Kiribati in Micronesia, appears to have at least a few speakers in New York, associated with Kiribati's UN Mission.

Kinyarwanda

Kinyarwanda
Between 400 and 500 Rwandans live in the tri-state area, over 70% of whom speak Kinyarwanda, according to the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the UN in Murray Hill. The small but active community comes together multiple times per year for various holidays, cultural events, and picnics. Two of the most important events are an annual memorial to commemorate the Rwandan genocide in which nearly one million Tutsi were killed, and Liberation Day on July 4th, which commemorates the end of Juvénal Habyarimana's totalitarian dictatorship. Banyarwanda (the ethnic group to which Kinyarwanda speakers belong) are known for their dance, which one community member describes as a "cultural mix of African, Indian, and European styles", often accompanied by the inanga, a stringed instrument native to Burundi and Rwanda. Children of Rwandan immigrants and refugees maintain less fluency in Kinyarwanda than their parents, prompting efforts to reintroduce the language at home and in school.

Marshallese

Kajin M̧ajeļ
Up to one-third of all Marshall Islanders are thought to have moved to the U.S., fleeing unemployment and the threat of climate change, with major concentrations in Hawaii and Arkansas. A small number are in New York, clustered around the Marshall Islands' UN Mission.

Nauruan

Dorerin Naoero
Linguist Kevin Hughes estimates that at any given time there may be 4-6 Nauruans living in New York on a temporary basis, usually associated with the Mission to the United Nations.

Oshiwambo

Oshiwambo
Besides working at the Namibian Mission, some Oshiwambo speakers reportedly live on Roosevelt Island, in Brooklyn, and elsewhere around the metropolitan area.

Pijin

Pijin
A small number of Solomon Islanders who are familiar with the English-based creole Pijin (now the national language and sharing similar origins and characteristics with Tok Pisin and Bislama) are associated with the Solomon Islands' Mission to the UN.

Samoan

Gagana Fa'a Sāmoa
Pacific Islanders speaking Samoan, Tongan, and Fijian reside in all five boroughs of NYC, though the majority live on Manhattan’s Roosevelt Island, according to one community member. The UN Permanent Missions to various Polynesian and Melanesian nations act as both political and cultural organizations in New York, supporting shows from visiting Islanders and working with museums like The Met and The Queens Museum to curate exhibits featuring "Pac Island" culture and artifacts. The East Village’s "Kavasutra Kava Bar" attracts many Samoans, Tongans, and Fijians who drink the kava (itself a Tongan word meaning "bitter") imported from Vanuatu.

Seychellois Creole

Seselwa
Seychellois Creole is the French-based creole language of the Seychelles, an archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, where it shares official status with French and English. Speakers of the language in New York include staff at the country's UN Mission.

South African English

South African English
Several thousand South African New Yorkers live in neighborhoods across the city — besides South African English, there are at least small numbers of speakers of Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Northern Sotho (also spoken in Lesotho), Ndebele (also spoken in Zimbabwe), Swati (also spoken in Eswatini), and Tswana (also spoken in Botswana). All are official languages of South Africa today, testifying to an extraordinary multilingualism also embodied by comedian and New York resident Trevor Noah, who reportedly speaks (a distinctly South African-inflected) English, Afrikaans, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Swiss German

Schwiizerdütsch
Significant numbers of immigrants began arriving from the Swiss cantons, speaking diverse varieties of Swiss German, Swiss French, or Swiss Italian, in the early 19th century. Some worked in the city's growing food industry, most famously the Swiss-Italian Delmonicos, whose businesses beginning in 1825 permanently transformed New York's culinary culture. Swiss German varieties, given their numerical dominance, are thought to be most common, but Swiss are historically highly multilingual, and the city has also been home to Romansh speakers. Organizations like the Swiss Society of NYC and the Swiss Benevolent Society have long celebrated Swiss cultural heritage while also providing support services and programs to Swiss New Yorkers. By the 1960s, an official Swiss presence was palpable at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 49th Street, with a "Swiss Center" housing Swissair, UBS and Switzerland Tourism, as well as the popular Chalet Suisse restaurant — the Swiss Society of New York today is still located nearby.

Tok Pisin

Tok Pisin
A very small community of Papua New Guineans, centered on the country's UN Mission, represents one of the world's most linguistically diverse nations in New York. All have some command of Tok Pisin, an English-based creole which serves as a lingua franca and increasingly a language of official activity in the archipelago nation of over 800 languages.

Umbundu

Úmbúndú
Umubundu and Kimbundu are the most widely spoken languages native to Angola, with a small number of New York speakers most likely to be found at or through the Angolan Mission to the UN.

Xhosa

IsiXhosa
Several thousand South African New Yorkers live in neighborhoods across the city — besides South African English, there are at least small numbers of speakers of Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Northern Sotho (also spoken in Lesotho), Ndebele (also spoken in Zimbabwe), Swati (also spoken in Eswatini), and Tswana (also spoken in Botswana). All are official languages of South Africa today, testifying to an extraordinary multilingualism also embodied by comedian and New York resident Trevor Noah, who reportedly speaks (a distinctly South African-inflected) English, Afrikaans, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu.

Zulu

IsiZulu
Several thousand South African New Yorkers live in neighborhoods across the city — besides South African English, there are at least small numbers of speakers of Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, Northern Sotho (also spoken in Lesotho), Ndebele (also spoken in Zimbabwe), Swati (also spoken in Eswatini), and Tswana (also spoken in Botswana). All are official languages of South Africa today, testifying to an extraordinary multilingualism also embodied by comedian and New York resident Trevor Noah, who reportedly speaks (a distinctly South African-inflected) English, Afrikaans, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, Xhosa, and Zulu.
Additional languages spoken in this neighborhood:
  • Western Armenian
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Murray Hill

Manhattan

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Language
Endonym
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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
AbruzzeseAbbruzzésə

Southern Europe

  • Italy flag
    Italy
Indo-European
Astoria

Small

Residential
AbruzzeseAbbruzzésə

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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An urban language map

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