Deep to Its Roots

It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story

– Agatha Christie

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there is an estimate of about 8.6 million people living in New York City and of this 8.6 million, almost 40% are foreign-born which is roughly 3.4 million people. This combined with the number of people who continue to immigrate to the city every day makes it no surprise as to why New York’s cultural diversity has long been seen as a symbol of the city’s wider vitality. Historically, New York City has been known as a melting pot of culture, welcoming immigrants from countries all over the world for centuries. This trend has continued to prolong throughout decades towards the current day. Today, there are almost 800 languages spoken in New York City making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world, but also allowing the city to become ornate with distinct cultures. This distinct culture is one that can be felt all throughout the city regardless of where someone is.

Aside from this, one of the many beauties of New York is that each neighborhood, regardless of the ethnic enclave that inhabited the area, is extremely different than the next. It allows for the culture that is so deeply ingrained in New York to be felt all throughout the City. Each neighborhood has its own unique character that it possesses and can only be experience the specific neighborhood itself. Personally, that is one my favorite things about the City. It is almost like New York City is a museum in itself (which by the way, New York has a TON of museums, so to think of the city having another museum in itself is so neat!). Depending on the neighborhood, there is an ornate cultural vibe that goes back to the roots of the ethnic enclave that inhabited the area centuries ago, further exhibiting how culture is so deeply ingrained in New York City.

Walking down the street, riding on the subway, or even enjoying a cup of coffee at your favorite local coffee shop (no, Dunkin’ Donuts does NOT count) provides the opportunity for someone to experience just one or two of these 800 languages being spoken. I know there was not a day in New York that I did not encounter someone speaking a foreign language. I would find myself listening in on conversations trying to guess what language they may be speaking. I would find myself strolling through central park some evenings and I kept noticing that very few people were conversing in English, which was NOT a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it was so interesting hearing all the different languages being spoken and the slight similarities and differences between each one. Allowing myself to take in all the different languages around me definitely showed me the importance for someone to encompass the role of being a global citizen as it relates to being linguistically and culturally aware of one’s surroundings, especially in a community that is becoming more and more diverse every day.