Carl Darling Buck, "A Sketch of the Linguistic Conditions of Chicago," The Decennial Publications v. VI (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1903); 8-20.THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
[Editor's note- footnotes have been changed to endnotes for the purpose of clarity in reading.]
[Page 8]… In the following survey, the language-families, their principal subdivisions, and the languages in each are given in the order of their relative numerical strength in Chicago. I have not thought it worth while to differentiate further and to attempt to show the representation of the dialects of each language. In the case of languages spoken by large numbers, such as German, Swedish, Polish, etc., one may be reasonably certain that all the dialects are represented.
There is, however, as every student of language knows, no objective, purely linguistic, criterion of language versus dialect, some languages differing from one another far less than many dialects; and our choice of terms depends upon considerations geographical and historical as well as linguistic. I have intended simply to follow ordinary usage in this matter, though in some few cases the procedure will need some comment.
That the picture of the linguistic elements of Chicago's population is complete I should not, venture to hope. It is highly probable that there are several languages, spoken by a few individuals, which have escaped my notice. And of the languages mentioned, the part played by each could be described with greater elaboration. But even this sketch will, it is hoped, prove of sufficient interest and value to repay the very considerable expenditure of time involved in gathering the materials.
GERMANIC
WEST GERMANIC
English-English is of course spoken by nearly the whole population.
German-German is spoken, it is safe to say, by more than half a million. The Census figures of Table 60 for Germany are 363,319, while the school census of 1898 [end page 8] gave 469,014. To these figures would have to be added a portion of those tabulated under Austria, Hungary, Belgium, and Switzerland. Many leading Germans think 600,000 nearer the truth. Even at the conservative estimate of 500,000 German-speaking persons, Chicago ranks as the fifth German city of the world, New York being the fourth.
More than twenty German newspapers and periodicals are published here, including such important dailies as the Staats-Zeitung, Freie Presse and Abendpost.
As is well known, the German forms by far the largest element of our foreign population, and is distributed over every state, though strongest in New York and Illinois. The German papers in the country number between two and three hundred.
Yiddish -Yiddish is spoken by upward of 50,000 persons.
There are two Yiddish dailies, the Daily Jewish Call and the Daily Jewish Courier, and a Yiddish theater in which performances are given nightly.
New York is the great Yiddish center, containing over 200,000 Yiddish-speaking Jews, and it is there that the leading Yiddish papers are published.
Dutch-Dutch is spoken by about 35,000. The Census figures for those born in Holland (Table 35) are 18,555. No statistics for Holland are given under Table 60, but to include the second generation it would be fair to double this number. And, without knowledge of the Census returns, the Dutch estimate has been between thirty and forty thousand.
There are two Dutch weeklies, De Nederlander and Onze Toekomst.
Chicago is the first city of the country in the number of its Dutch, Grand Rapids, Mich., being second, and Paterson, N. J., third. Of the States, the Dutch element is strongest in Michigan, where, besides the large numbers in Grand Rapids, there are several towns almost purely Dutch, including one called "Holland," the seat of Hope College. Of the fifteen Dutch papers in the country, nine are published in Michigan.
Flemish -Flemish is spoken by upward of 1,000, possibly by 2,000 persons.
The largest Flemish population is in Wisconsin, and two Flemish weeklies appear in DePere, Wis., Do Volksstem and Onze Standaard.
Frisian -Frisian is spoken by some 2,000 persons from the Dutch province of Friesland. [end page 9]
In general, Frisians are found wherever there are other immigrants from Holland in large numbers, so that their centers are the same as those of the Dutch. There is no Frisian paper published in this country.
NORTH GERMANIC OR SCANDINAVIAN
Swedish-Swedish is spoken by upward of 100,000. The Census figures of Table 60 are 95,878, while the school census of 1898 gave 109,755. The Swedish estimate is 115,000. Ten Swedish papers are published here, the most important being the Svenska Kuriren and the Svenska Tribunen, both weeklies.
Chicago is the third Swedish city of the world and has more than twice as many Swedes as any other city in the country, New York being second and Minneapolis third. Of the states Minnesota has the largest Swedish population.
There are over fifty Swedish papers in the country.
Norwegian-Norwegian is spoken by some 50,000 persons. The Census figures of Table 60 are 37,886, while the school census of 1898 gave 44,980. The Norwegians regard 50,000 as a conservative estimate.
Seven Norwegian papers are published in the city, the Skandinaven, daily and semi-weekly, being the leading Norwegian paper of the country.
Chicago is the third Norwegian city in the world and the first in this country, Minneapolis being second, and New York third. Of the states, Minnesota contains the greatest number of Norwegians, though North Dakota has the largest percentage of Norwegians to the total population.
There are over sixty Norwegian and Danish papers in the country.
Danish-Danish is spoken by some 20,000 persons. The Census figures of Table 60 are 15,185, those of the school census of 1898, 21,261.
There are two Danish papers, the Chicago-Posten and the Revyen, both weeklies.
Chicago is the first Danish city of the country, New York being second, Racine, Wis., third, and Omaha, Neb., fourth. Of the states Iowa has the greatest number of Danes.
Icelandic-Icelandic is spoken by some 100 persons.
The principal Icelandic settlements in the United States are in North Dakota, mostly in Pembina county, and in Minnesota, mostly in Lyon and Lincoln counties. In these states there are several thousand Icelanders. There is also a colony of about 200 on Washington Island, Wisconsin, and a few Icelandic settlers are found in some other states. [end page 10]
A weekly paper, the Vinland, is published at Minneota, Minn.
The Icelanders are more numerous in Manitoba, and there are four Icelandic papers, three published at Winnipeg and one at Gimli, in a district known as New Iceland.
BALTO-SLAVIC
SLAVIC
Polish-Polish is spoken by more than 100,000, possibly by 150,000 persons. The Census figures of Table 60 are 107,669, while the school census of 1898 gave 96,468. But the opportunities for wrong classification are great in the cue of the Poles, and a conservative Polish estimate puts the number at 150,000.
There are about a dozen Polish papers in the city, including two dailies, the Dziennik Chicagoski and the Dziennik Naradowy.
Chicago is probably the fourth Polish city of the world, and contains more than twice as many Poles as any other city of the country, New York being second, followed by Milwaukee and Buffalo. Of the states Illinois is first in its Polish population, owing mainly to the numbers in Chicago, Pennsylvania coming second with its large body of Poles throughout the mining regions.
There are between thirty and forty Polish papers in the country.
Bohemian-Bohemian is spoken by about 90,000 persons. The Census, Table 60, gives 72,862, the school census of 1898, 88,581.
There are fifteen Bohemian papers in the city, including four dailies, the Svornost, the Denni Hlasatel, the Narod, and the Lidové Noviny.
Chicago is undoubtedly the second Bohemian city in the world, since Brünn is about half German. It contains nearly three times as many Bohemians as any other city in the country, Cleveland, Ohio, being second and New York third. Of the states Illinois is first, followed by Nebraska, where there is a large Bohemian farming population.
There are more than forty Bohemian papers in the country.
Slovakian--Slovakian is spoken by about 10,000.
The Slovakian population is most numerous in Pennsylvania, particularly in Pittsburg and Allegheny. The states next in order, in the strength of their Slovakian population, are Ohio, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.
Eight Slovakian papers are published in the country, six of them in Pennsylvania, one of the most important being the Amerikano-Slovenske Noviny, a weekly published in Pittsburgh. [end page 11]
Serbo-Croatian-Croatian is spoken by some 10,000, from Croatia and the Dalmatian coast.
There are two Croatian papers, the Chicago Sloboda and the Branik.
While no other city contains a larger number of Croatians (Pittsburgh and Allegheny together have about the same number), the great mass of the Croatian population is in Pennsylvania, where there are about 38,000. The states next in order are Illinois, California, Ohio, Montana.
There are in all seven Croatian papers, including two dailies, the Narodni List in New York and the Hrvatska in Allegheny.
Of "Servians" there are perhaps 100, of whom only about half a dozen are from the kingdom of Servia, two or three from Montenegro, four or five from Bosnia, and the rest from Herzegovina or Dalmatia.
So far as I have learned, there is nowhere in the country any considerable number of immigrants from Servia proper, yet the Servian element is strong enough to make possible the existence of five weekly newspapers calling themselves Servian. Each of these is printed partly in the Cyrillic and partly in the Latin alphabet. There are said to be several hundred Montenegrins in California.
Russian-Russian is spoken by some 7,000, possibly as many as 10,000, nearly all Jews. The Census figures for Russia, whether accurate or not, are of no value for linguistic purposes; for they represent in large part Jews, only a small proportion of whom speak Russian as well as Yiddish. The American-born children even of those who are bilingual learn only Yiddish, so that the proportion of Russian to Yiddish-speaking is much less than among the Jews of Russia.
There are probably not 100 genuine Russians, that is, Great Russians, in the city. There are, however several hundred Ruthenians, perhaps about 500, who speak a Little Russian dialect. The Russian church of Chicago is made up largely of Ruthenians, and service was for a time held in Little Russian, now, however, in Great Russian. [end page 12]
In other parts of the country, too, the Russian language is represented mainly by the Russian Jews, so that New York, which contains by far the largest number of these, is the largest Russian-speaking city of the country.
Aside from the Jews, the only considerable Russian colony is that of Doukhobors in North Dakota.
Slovenian-Slovenian, the Slavic language of the Austrian province of Carniola, and parts of Carinthia, Styria, and the coastland is spoken by about 1,500 persons, most of them from Carniola.
The principal Slovenian colonies are in Cleveland, Ohio, Joliet, M, Pueblo, Colorado, Red Jacket, Michigan, in each of which there are several thousand. There are also considerable numbers in Pittsburgh, Leadville, Colorado, and in several towns in Minnesota.
There are six Slovenian papers.
Bulgarian-Bulgarian is spoken by between 50 and 60 persons, about four-fifths of whom are from Macedonia.
The next largest numbers are in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, there being about 85 in each, and about 100 in the whole state of Pennsylvania. There are also between 30 and 40 in Ohio and Massachusetts, about 25 in New York, about 15 in Maryland, New Jersey, Maine, Michigan, 10 in California, and still smaller numbers in several other states. In all there are in the country between 500 and 600, about four-fifths of whom are Macedonians, chiefly from the district of Monastir, who have come here within the last three or four years. Up to 1892 there were less than 100 Bulgarians in the country, and nearly all these were students or professional men from Bulgaria proper.
A small Bulgarian bi-monthly is published in Chicago, and has some 200 subscribers.
Wendish--It is almost certain that among the immigrants from Germany there are at least some individuals from the Wendish region about Cottbus and Bautzen, but they are so thoroughly Germanized as to pass everywhere for Germans, and I have not been able to learn definitely of any Wendish-speaking persons.
There is a colony in Serbin, Texas, where church service is still held in Wendish.
BALTIC
Lithuanian-Lithuanian is spoken by over 10,000 persons. The vast majority of them are from Russian territory, though there are also a few Prussian Lithuanians.
There are two Lithuanian weeklies, the Lietuva and the Katalikas. [end page 13]
Pennsylvania has the largest Lithuanian population, followed by Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. There are in all six Lithuanian papers.
Lettic--There are about 300 Letts in the city, and also perhaps 200 Jews from Lettic territory who can speak Lettic.
The number of Letts is about the same for Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, while there are some 250 in San Francisco, 100 in Cleveland, Ohio, 100 in Lincoln County, Wis., and smaller settlements in other places, making in all approximately 2,000 in the country.
A Lettic religious weekly, Amerikas Westnesis, is published in Boston.
ROMANCE
Italian-Italian is spoken by over 25,000 persons. The Census figures, Table 60, are 26,043, those of the school census of 1898, 22,933.
Three Italian papers, two weeklies and one monthly, are published here, L'Italia, La Tribuna Italiana, and L'America.
By far the largest Italian colony in the country is in New York city, where there are over 200,000, and where ten of the thirty-five Italian papers in the country are published.
French-French is spoken, by from 15,000 to 20,000 persons. The Census figures, Table 60, are 4,498 French, 8,206 French Canadians, to which would be added a portion of those enumerated under Belgium and Switzerland. On the basis of these figures one would judge the French-speaking population to be about 17,000.
One French weekly is published here, Le Courier de l'Ouest.
The largest number of immigrants from France is in New York city, but the French Canadians are most numerous in the New England manufacturing cities, Fall River, Lowell, Manchester, etc. Of some thirty-five French papers nearly half are published in the New England states (eight in Massachusetts), but there are five in California and five in Louisiana.
Spanish-Spanish is spoken by perhaps 1,000 persons-Spaniards, Mexicans, Central Americans, South Americans, and West Indians in about equal proportions. The Census figures for persons born in these countries (Table 35), and not including Cubans and Puerto Ricans, amount to 641.
By far the largest Spanish-speaking population is in Texas. The Mexican element is strong also in Arizona, New Mexico and California, while in Florida there [end page 14] are large numbers from the West Indies. Apart from the Mexicans, New York has the, largest number of Spanish-speaking persons. All of the fifty-odd Spanish papers of the country appear in the states named, there being twelve in New York City.
Roumanian-Roumanian is spoken by perhaps 2,000 Roumanian Jews. The Census gives only 287 as born in Roumania, but they have been arriving in larger numbers within the last two years. Estimates of the number vary widely, some running as high as 4,000. The number given is hardly more than a guess.
A large proportion of all the Roumanian Jews in the country is in New York City. Aside from the Jews, I have not learned of any considerable number of Roumanians anywhere, and the Roumanian language seems to be represented almost wholly by the Jews from Roumania, with some Gypsies who speak Roumanian.
Portuguese-Portuguese is spoken by only a few dozen persons. The Census gives 21 as born in Portugal.
Most of the Portuguese population of the country is in Massachusetts and California, in each of which there are over 12,000 born in Portugal. The five Portuguese papers of the country appear in these states.
CELTIC
Irish-Irish is spoken by upwards of 10,000 persons certainly, and probably by as many as 15,000. The first number would be within the 141 per cent of the 73,912 born in Ireland (Census, Table 35), 14 1/2 being the percentage of the population of Ireland which can speak Irish. But immigration is especially strong from those counties in which Irish is most spoken, so that the percentage of Irish speakers among the Irish-born of Chicago (and in general in this country) is without doubt somewhat larger. Moreover, the revival of interest in the Irish language, fostered by the Gaelic League, has had the result, unique in the history of our foreign population, that not a few adults have learned their native tongue for the first time in this country. There are also some of the second generation who learn Irish at home or in the classes of the Gaelic League. But this enthusiasm for the language, after all, affects but a small proportion of the Irish population, and it would not be safe to assume any very large additions to the number of those who spoke Irish when they came here.
Neither here nor elsewhere, even in Ireland, so far as I am aware, is there any newspaper published entirely in Irish. But most of the papers devoted to Irish interests print, occasionally at least, addresses, poems, stories, etc., in the native language.
The number of Irish-speaking persons is, of course, everywhere proportionate to the total number of Irish, which is greatest in New York City, followed by Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston. In the whole country there are probably about one-quar- [end page 15] ter of a million of Irish-speaking persons, which is more than a third of the number in Ireland.
Welsh-Welsh is probably spoken by about 2,000 persons, the total Welsh population here being 4,000 or 5,000.
More than a third of all the Welsh in the country are in the mining regions of Pennsylvania, the states next in order being Ohio and Now York. There are three Welsh papers, the most important being Y Drych, a weekly published at Utica, N. Y.
Scotch Gaelic-The Scotch Gaelic, closely allied to the Irish, is spoken by perhaps 500 persons. There are nearly 20,000 Scotch in the city, but, of course, only a small number from the parts of Scotland where Gaelic is still spoken.
In Canada there are some pure Gaelic settlements, where church services are still held in Gaelic. One of these is in Gananoque, Ontario.
Manx-Manx, also closely related to Irish, is spoken by perhaps 100 persons. This is on the assumption that of the 400 or 500 Manxmen in the city, the proportion of Manx-speaking persons is about the same as on the Isle of Man, But it may be less, and a Manx informant has the idea that there are only a few dozen who can speak Manx.
The principal Manx center is Cleveland, Ohio. Settlements in the neighborhood of the city were made as early as 1827, and there are said to be now in the suburbs and immediate vicinity as many as 8,000 of Manx birth or descent. There are also considerable numbers of Manxmen in New Orleans, San Francisco, Rochester, and Albany.
Breton-The Breton or Armorican, spoken in Brittany and allied more closely with the Welsh and the extinct Cornish than with the Irish, is represented by a few dozen of the immigrants from France.
I have not learned of any distinctly Breton settlements in this country, and doubt if there are any. But wherever there are French immigrants in large numbers, there are certain to be some from Brittany, and it is safe to conclude, in the absence of more specific evidence, that the largest number of Breton-speaking persons is in New York City.
GREEK
Modern Greek-Modern Greek is spoken by about 4,000, possibly by 5,000. The Census, Table 35, gives only 1,493, and the school census of 1898 only 1,644 of Greek birth. But the school census of 1896 gave 3,711, and since then the number is known to have increased.
Chicago has the largest Greek population of any city in the country, followed by [end page 16] New York, Lowell, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Savannah, Pittsburgh, Charleston, New Orleans, in the order named.
There are two Greek newspapers, both published in New York, the ’ av i and the úa .
ALBANIAN
Albanian-Albanian, representing an independent branch of Indo-European of which no other languages are extant, is spoken by perhaps one or two hundred of the immigrants from Greece.
A large proportion of the Greeks from the southern part of the Peloponnesus, where there are very few Albanians, while from Attica, Bœotia, and other parts where the Albanian element is strongest, the number of immigrants is much smaller.
From Albania proper there are probably no representatives, nor, as far as I know, from the Albanian towns of southern Italy.
In other parts of the country the distribution of the Albanian element will correspond roughly to that of the Greek element.
ARMENIAN
Armenian-Armenian, which, like Albanian, is the sole representative of an independent branch of the Indo-European family, is spoken by some 125 persons.
Except for New York City, with 2,500, most of the Armenians are in the New England cities. Worcester has 1,500, Boston 800, Providence 800, Lawrence 350, Lynn 300, etc.
There are five Armenian papers, three of which are published in Boston, one in Cambridge, and one in Fresno, California.
INDO-IRANIAN
Neither Persian nor any of the other modern Iranian languages is represented here, as far as I have been able to learn. Nor do I know of any Hindus living here at the present time.
Gypsy-The Indic branch, however, is not entirely unrepresented, since there are nearly always some Gypsies in the outskirts of the city or in the immediate vicinity. And, as is well known, the Gypsy language still retains a large element, which, in spite of the accretions from other languages, clearly betrays its origin in India. In the summer of 1901 there was here a large number of Gypsies recently arrived from Rumania and Bessarabia, who spoke Roumanian and Russian as well as Gypsy. But most of the Gypsies who frequent the city from year to year belong to a family which came to this country, after living for some time in Bavaria, from Croatia, and call themselves Hungarian Gypsies. [end page 17]
FINNO-HUNGARIAN
Hungarian-The number of Hungarian-speaking persons is difficult to estimate even roughly. There are about 1,000 Magyars in South Chicago, Pullman, and the other manufacturing districts in the southern outskirts of the city. These, of course, are entirely Hungarian in speech. Nearly all the Hungarians in the city proper, of whom there are many thousands, are Jews, there being two Hungarian-Jewish churches. Some of these are as thoroughly Hungarian in speech and in sentiment as the Magyars themselves, but many, on the other hand, belong to our earliest class of immigrants from Hungary and left at a time when German influence was predominant, so that German rather than Hungarian is their mother-tongue, and their children, so far as they learned anything but English, acquired German, not Hungarian. As to the actual numbers of the Jews from Hungary, and their descendants, and the proportion which speak Hungarian, I have received the most divergent opinions. It is safe to say that Hungarian is spoken by 5,000, while some would place the number at several times this.
Of the cities, New York has the largest Hungarian population, with Cleveland, Ohio, second. Of the states, Pennsylvania stands first, followed by New York and Ohio. There are five Hungarian papers, three in New York and two in Cleveland.
Finnish-Finnish is spoken by about 500 persons. The center of the Finnish population is in the Calumet mining regions of Michigan. Next to Michigan, with 18,910 Finnish born, according to the Census, comes Minnesota, with about 10,000, followed by Massachusetts with about 5,000.
There are fourteen Finnish papers, seven of them appearing in Michigan.
Esthonian-There are said to be three Esthonian families in Chicago. New York and San Francisco have each about 150 Esthonians, and altogether in the country there are about 400. An Esthonian religious paper, Amerika Eesti Postimees, is published in Boston by the same editor as the Lettic paper.
SEMITIC
Arabic-Arabic is spoken by the Syrians, numbering between 300 and 500. In New York, which has the greatest number of Syrians, there are four papers published in Arabic. No account is taken of Hebrew, which, however familiar in Jewish services, is not actually a spoken language anywhere.
For Yiddish see above, p. 9. [end page 18]
OTHER LANGUAGES
Chinese-Chinese is spoken by between one and two thousand persons.
As is well known, the Chinese element is strongest in California and the other Pacific states. In the East the greatest number is in New York.
There are two Chinese papers, one in New York, the other in San Francisco.
Japanese-Japanese is spoken by less than a hundred persons. The Census gives 80 as born in Japan.
The Japanese are most numerous in California, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho in the order named.
Turkish-As far as I can learn, there are no Turks in the city at present, though one or two remained stranded here for some years after the exposition of 1893. But the Turkish language is not unrepresented, for the reason that nearly all the Armenians, that is, all the male adults, speak Turkish in addition to their own language.
There are probably very few Turks anywhere in the country, the language being represented mainly by the Armenian population, which is almost exclusively from Turkish Armenia.
Basque-Basque is represented by a few individuals only. I have not learned of any considerable number of Basques anywhere in the country.
The native Indian languages are almost wholly unrepresented. There is a resident physician who is a full-blooded Sioux, and occasionally a party of Indians is brought here for a few months for commercial purposes. But practically the Indian languages play no put in the linguistic conditions of the city.
I have not learned of any representations of the Malay-Polynesian group of languages, though it is quite possible that there are a few Hawaiians or Samoans engaged in business. The Census gives 46 as born in the Pacific Islands, but these are probably of American parentage.
SUMMARY
The most notable characteristic of Chicago's foreign population is the strength of the Scandinavian and Slavic elements. No other city in the country contains anything like as many representatives of these groups. The Slavs number over a quarter of a million, and of the large divisions which we have made above, Slavic comes next to Germanic, a place which would be occupied by Romance in New York, Philadelphia, or Boston. Taking the languages without regard to the classification previously followed, the following are those of which Chicago furnishes the largest representation of any city in the country: Polish, Swedish, Bohemian, Norwegian, Dutch, Danish, Croatian, Slovakian, Lithuanian, and Greek. [end page 19]
In the following table the languages are given in the order of their numerical strength in Chicago, so far as this can be determined. As explained before, the numbers are only approximate. The asterisks indicate those languages, already named, which are spoken by greater numbers in Chicago than in other cities of this country:
German 500,000
*Polish 125,000
*Swedish 100,000
*Bohemian 90,000
*Norwegian 50,000
Yiddish 50,000
Dutch 85,000
Italian 25,000
*Danish 20,000
French 15,000
Irish 10,000
*Croatian and Servian 10,000
*Slovakian 10,000
*Lithuanian 10,000
Russian 7,000
Hungarian 5,000
*Greek 4,000
Frisian 1,000 to 2,000
Roumanian 1,000 to 2,000
Welsh 1,000 to 2,000
Slovenian 1,000 to 2,000
Flemish 1,000 to 2,000
Chinese 1,000
Spanish 1,000
Finnish 500
Scotch-Gaelic 500
Lettic 500
Arabic 250
Armenian 100
Manx 100
Icelandic 100
Albanian 100
Bulgarian less than 100
Turkish less than 100
Japanese less than 100
Portuguese less than 100
Breton less than 100
Estonian less than 100
Basque less than 100
Gypsy less than 100
[end page 20]
