Neighborhood

University Heights

Bronx
In the Census-defined PUMA including Bedford Park, Fordham North & Norwood, according to recent Census data, (in descending order) Bengali, French, Albanian, and "Niger-Congo languages" are recorded as having over 1000 speakers. Varieties of English and Spanish are widely spoken.
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Languages with a significant site in this neighborhood, marked by a point on the map:

Akan

Akan
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.

Ashanti

Ashanti
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.

Bulgarian

Български
Like many Eastern European immigrant groups, Bulgarians first settled on Manhattan's Lower East Side (in what is today considered Alphabet City) at the turn of the 20th century, with another influx after the Second World War. New York became home to the first Bulgarian association in the nation, the Bulgarian American Mutual Aid Society, and other cultural institutions such as Saints Kyril & Metodi Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral (first in Morningside Heights and later Hell's Kitchen) followed. In the mid-20th century, Bulgarian New Yorkers began moving uptown or to the Bronx, Queens, or suburban areas, where most live today. Brooklyn is home to a number of Bulgarian Turks as well, who speak a unique dialect of Turkish developed over 500 years under Ottoman rule.

Buli

Kanjaga
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.

Dominican Spanish

Español Dominicano
The New York metropolitan area is home to what is by far the largest Dominican community outside the Dominican Republic, including hundreds of thousands of speakers of the island's distinctive variety of Caribbean Spanish. Though individuals came much earlier, the majority of Dominican New Yorkers today arrived beginning in the 1970s and 80s. Washington Heights remains a major center, though many have moved north into Inwood and the Bronx, and today every borough and many nearby suburbs have a substantial Dominican community. An earlier community in Corona, including especially of immigrants from the province of Cibao and even particular villages within it, has been expanding to Woodhaven, Cypress Hills, and East New York and increasingly now the smaller cities and suburbs of Westchester and New Jersey.

Hmong

Hmoob
The Southeast Asian refugee community that formed in the Bronx following the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, today represented in part by the organization Mekong NYC, is substantially Vietnamese- and Khmer-speaking, but there have also reportedly been individuals who speak Lao (some of whom are also in the Thai area of Elmhurst) as well as Hmong and Mien, the two largest non-national languages spoken by Southeast Asian Americans, which are historically related but also highly internally diverse. Following the Vietnam War, many more speakers of these languages went as refugees to California, Minnesota, and elsewhere. One Hmong speaker reports that several dozen White and Green Hmong, many of whom came via the midwest, are now scattered around New York.

Latvian

Latviešu
Like many Eastern European communities, Latvians first arrived in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century. The diaspora community consists mostly of post-Second World War emigrants, who found homes in Boston, New York, and other major East Coast cities. According to 2015-2019 American Community Survey data, there just over 500 Latvian speakers in New York City. Yonkers' Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church unifies the community with weekly services and programming for children.
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University Heights

Bronx

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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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An urban language map

Welcome to Languages of New York City, a free and interactive digital map of the world’s most linguistically diverse metropolitan area.

All data, unless otherwise specified, is from the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), based on information from communities, speakers, and other sources.

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