Below is a description of a free, half-hour Zoom program tracing the history of languages in New York City. This program requires free online registration.  Note: BLS Library is purchasing multi-user electronic access to Ross Perlin’s new book, Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York. (We expect the vendor to provide us with access to this ebook within a few days.)

Free Talk at noon today: Live From New Amsterdam: Language City (via Zoom):

Featuring: Ross Perlin & Russell Shorto    

The description of this program at New York Historical Society’s website states: “Four centuries ago, what had been a Lenape-speaking archipelago suddenly became New Amsterdam—a crossroads of Native American, European, and African cultures. Here, 18 languages were reported as being spoken within the first few decades, and the number is likely far greater. Join Ross Perlin, author of the new book Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York, and Russell Shorto [director of the New Amsterdam Project at the New-York Historical Society] as they trace this history of language and how it set the template for the city’s extraordinary transformation into one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the world.”

Also, New York Historical Society has a new installation: New York Before New York: The Castello Plan of New Amsterdam.  New York Historical Society states it offers “pay as you wish” admission on Friday evenings from 6-8 pm.  (NYHS generally charges students $13 for admission.)  Also, beginning on April 1 at midnight, those with Brooklyn, New York or Queens Public Library cards will be able to try to reserve one of the limited number of free “Culture Passes” offering free admission to New York Historical Society.  (Each month, a new group of Culture Passes becomes available.)