know from

[Fritz Juengling]

the German/Yiddish connection might explain 'know from' in South African
English.  There were many early settlers from Germany in South Africa. There
have also been many Jewish (many of whom were Yiddish speakers) settlers as
well.  Of course, Afrikaans descends from Dutch dialects.  So, these three
languages may have had some influence on S Afr Eng.  I don't know whether it
is found in Aus, NZ or any British English dialect, though.
Does Russian say 'know from'?
Fritz

> My guess, based on the above, is that it was incorporated into New
> York City English from Yiddish, which (again based on the above)
> calqued "know from" from Russian.  All speculative, though.