| Group: | Lezgin Americans Amerikadin Lezgiyar Лезинские Американцы |
| Population: | 3286 |
| Regions: | New Jersey, New York City, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles |
| Langs: | Lezgin, American English, Russian |
| Rels: | Sunni Islam |
Lezgin Americans or American Lezgins refers to people born in or residing in the United States of Lezgin origin or those considered to be ethnic Lezgin.
The majority of Lezgin Americans are recent migrants from Dagestan and Azerbaijan. Most have roots in northern Azerbaijan or southern Dagestan. The Azerbaijani Lezgin people comprise the largest proportion of ethnic Lezgins living in the US.
The first major wave of Lezgins came to the U.S. in 1940s and 1950s, as many Lezgin émigrés and POWs left the Soviet Union during and after World War II.
The Lezgin population in the United States was 3286, according to the 2000 census.
Lezgin Americans have settled in various parts of the United States, with some communities establishing themselves in metropolitan areas with larger immigrant populations.
See also: Lezgi language and Languages in the United States.
According to the 2005 Census, the Lezgi language is spoken in approximately 500 households within the entire U.S. population, and in 100 households in NYC alone by highly bilingual families with Lezgi ancestry. These data show that many speakers with Lezgi origins continue speaking the language at home despite the fact that they are highly bilingual. The number of English-proficient households using Lezgi as a home-language outweighs that of families who have switched completely to English. In this sense, the Lezgi American community efforts and the schools that serve the Lezgi community in the U.S. are responsible for the retention of the Lezgi language and the slowing of assimilation. A detailed study has documented the efforts of language and culture-disseminating schools of the Lezgi American community and is available as a doctoral dissertation, a book, book chapters, and journal articles. Lezgi language is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.[1]
See also: Islam in the United States. After relocating to the US, religion has taken on greater significance as an identity marker for Lezgin people.