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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Rizzoli Bookstore
English, French, General, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This is a truly gorgeous bookstore with a wonderful selection of books—in English, Italian, Spanish, and French. There are not many stores in New York with a meaningful supply of foreign-language books. This is one, and it seems to…
The Maison Française of Columbia University
French, Museums/Cultural, Conferences/Lectures
Founded in 1913, the Maison Française has had several homes, but now resides in Buell Hall on Columbia University’s Morningside Heights campus. It is a center for all things French: lectures, conferences, movies, seminars, salons, exhibits, a book…
AFFOI
French, Organizations
AFFOI, short for Assemblée des francophones fonctionnaires des organisations internationales, seeks to safeguard the linguistic diversity of international organizations. On its website, AFFOI asserts, “La diversité linguistique, culturelle et conceptuelle est une condition sine qua non…
Central Park
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Parks, Kids
Central Park draws international visitors year round, but if you really want to hear other languages, walk around here during the three non-freezing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. Summer especially is crazy with tourists. You can hear dozens of languages.…
Académie française (French Academy)
French, Organizations
In countries not the United States, it is not unusual to find an organized body of language experts who weigh in on questions relating to their national language. You know, like a Council on American Grammar and Usage—except we…
Haskell Library
French, Bookstores/Libraries, Classes/Conversation, Kids
Members of the French Institute Alliance Française have access to its magnificent John & Francine Haskell Library. With your adult membership fee of $95 (less for seniors, academics, and children), you can check out music, learning tools, movies, and…
Älskling
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Shopping, Kids
Älskling, which means “darling” in Swedish, sells baby clothes online in dozens of languages. When I first encountered this product in an Upper West Side shop some years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour by…
Le Petit Sénégal, Manhattan
French, Neighborhoods
Le Petit Sénégal, or Little Senegal, is a Central Harlem neighborhood concentrated around 116th Street, from roughly Frederick Douglas Avenue on the west to Lenox Avenue/Malcom X Boulevard on the east. On a search for French there,…