Neighborhood

Rego Park

Queens
In the Census-defined PUMA including Forest Hills & Rego Park, according to recent Census data, (in descending order) Russian, Hindi, Mandarin, Polish, Cantonese, Hebrew, and Japanese each hold more than 1000 speakers. English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Korean varieties are widely spoken in the area as well.
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Jewish Neo-Aramaic (Sanandaj)

Lišana Nošan
Linguist Yona Sabar — a native speaker of Lishani Dedani from Iraqi Kurdistan — divides Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects into four major groups: 1) North-West Iraqi Kurdistan, 2) South-East Iraqi Kurdistan, 3) Iranian-Turkish Azerbaijan (Urmia), and 4) Iranian Kurdistan (including Bijar). Great Neck, with its large community of Jews from Iran — the 2015-2019 American Community Survey found 6,693 Persian speakers in Great Neck and surrounding towns, almost all of whom are Jewish — includes speakers at least from Groups 3 and 4. Distinctions between Jewish and Christian Neo-Aramaic varieties have been noted in all areas, but seem to have been more prominent in certain cases. A significant number of Jews originally connected to the Urmia region and speaking Lishán Didán came to the United States, settling in eastern Queens, Great Neck, and elsewhere following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In December 2019, many celebrated the first-ever International Nash-Didan (Judeo-Aramaic) Day at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. In addition, at least six or seven families now in Great Neck include speakers of the highly endangered Jewish Neo-Aramaic of Bijar, from Iranian Kurdistan — others come from Sanandaj.

Judeo-Hamadani

Ebri
The Jewish community of Hamadan in Iran used a distinctive Central Plateau Iranian language substantially different from the standard Persian spoken in Iran. Even before the 1979 Revolution, many Jews from Hamadan had left for Teheran, and now most are in Israel, Los Angeles, or (to a lesser extent) Queens and Great Neck. Few now speak it on a daily basis, but some remember and can understand the language.

Judeo-Isfahani

J̌idi
Judeo-Isfahani is a variety within the Provincial (Velāyati) subgroup of the Median dialects spoken in the immediate vicinity of Isfahan but showing close affinity to Gazi and Sedeh. Historical evidence substantiates the idea that Isfahan itself was home to a population that once spoke Median (Borjian 2011), but that the original vernaculars survived only in conservative Jewish quarters and among Muslims in the countryside. Judeo-Isfahani is thus an older survival, while Persian has moved in more recently. At least since the 1980s, the Jews of Isfahan are probably more numerous in diaspora than in Iran, with the largest communities in the United States, especially Los Angeles, and Israel. In New York. After initially settling in and around Kew Gardens, the main concentration today is in the suburb of Great Neck and the surrounding area on Long Island, where Isfahani Jews share their synagogues with other Persian Jews. Like other Persian Jews, the community now uses Persian primarily, while the younger generation in New York speaks English. In Great Neck, Judeo-Isfahani may have at most several dozen speakers, by and large over the age of 60. According to 2015-2019 American Community Survey data, there are roughly 6,693 Persian speakers in Great Neck and surrounding towns, the overwhelming majority of whom are probably Jewish, and a small number of whom are probably speakers of these quite different languages spoken by regional Jewish communities in Iran. Read more here.

Khowar

کهووار
A highly multilingual contingent of families and individuals from Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous and multilingual region of northern Pakistan, includes speakers not only of English, Urdu, Balti, and Wakhi, but also one Khowar-speaking family, a handful of Shina-speaking families, and some native- and second-language speakers of Burushaski (a language isolate) — most live in Queens or Brooklyn, with a small number in Manhattan and on Long Island.

Kutchi

𑊺𑋀𑋪𑋁𑋢
Along with Gujarati, Kutchi (also known as Kachhi) is spoken by some Ismaili New Yorkers who trace their roots to India but lived in East Africa (Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya) until forced out in the 1970s. While substantial numbers then went to the UK and Canada, others have ended up in New York.

Rushani

Rex̌onai
Shughni is the largest of the local languages spoken in the Pamir region, based in the Shugnon District (centered on the regional capital of Khorog) and sometimes serving as a lingua franca between different groups. The majority of Pamiri New Yorkers, maybe 200 and growing, are speakers of Shughni, living especially in Brooklyn (Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge) and Queens (Rego Park/Woodhaven Boulevard area). Rushani, the distinct variety spoken in the Rushan District near Shugnon, is closely related to Shughni, and Rushani speakers may be the most numerous in New York after Shughni. Read more here.

Russian

Русский
Memorably described by the novelist Sergei Dovaltov, Jewish refuseniks who left the Soviet Union as political dissidents in the 1970s were among the first Russian speakers to settle in and around Rego Park. From this nucleus has grown a much larger and more diverse Russian-speaking zone in eastern Queens, encompassing parts of Forest Hills and Kew Gardens and including non-Jewish Russians, Bukharian Jews, and Central Asian Muslims.

Shina

شینا
A highly multilingual contingent of families and individuals from Gilgit-Baltistan, a mountainous and multilingual region of northern Pakistan, includes speakers not only of English, Urdu, Balti, and Wakhi, but also one Khowar-speaking family, a handful of Shina-speaking families, and some native- and second-language speakers of Burushaski (a language isolate) — most live in Queens or Brooklyn, with a small number in Manhattan and on Long Island.

Shughni

Xuǧnoni
Shughni is the largest of the local languages spoken in the Pamir region, based in the Shugnon District (centered on the regional capital of Khorog) and sometimes serving as a lingua franca between different groups. The majority of Pamiri New Yorkers, maybe 200 and growing, are speakers of Shughni, living especially in Brooklyn (Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge) and Queens (Rego Park/Woodhaven Boulevard area). Rushani, the distinct variety spoken in the Rushan District near Shugnon, is closely related to Shughni, and Rushani speakers may be the most numerous in New York after Shughni. Read more here.
Additional languages spoken in this neighborhood:
  • Bukhori
  • Danube Swabian
  • Tajik
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