Who started jawn?

Bill Labov, starting in the 1970s, began to make systematic recordings of speakers in Philadelphia, a project that would eventually become the Philadelphia Neighborhood Corpus.

Who started saying jawn?

“Jawn” seems to have developed as a Philadelphia variant of “joint” sometime in the 1980s, after the release of a hip-hop song called “That's the Joint” by a group from the Bronx, Funky Four Plus One. Through more semantic bleaching, “joint” became less a place and more a thing.

How did jawn originate?

According to linguists, jawn comes ultimately from the word joint via New York City. Joint is an old word: it dates back to the 1200s and referred initially to the point where two bones meet.

When was jawn invented?

At some point in the 1970s, Philadelphia coined the all-encompassing noun “jawn.” The word has remained a treasure in the city's black lexicon and natives have long stamped it as an integral part of their vocabulary.

Where did the slang term jawn come from?

Jawn is believed to be derived from the word "joint". Historically, the city's Black population migrated to the northern part of the city from Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, bringing with them a Southern dialect that carried words such as 'joint'.

Slang 101 - Jawn

Why do Philly people say jawn?

Simply answered, jawn is a stand-in for, but not limited to, objects, places, people, and events. Jawn can mean nothing and everything. It's similar to the word 'thing' in use but carries more local flair.

Is jawn a Philly slang?

Jawn is Philadelphia slang for anything … literally anything. Jawn is used as an all encompassing substitute for any person, place, or thing. Like this definition, an informative jawn.

What the heck is a jawn?

(slang, chiefly Philadelphia) Something; any object, place or thing. quotations ▼ (slang, chiefly Philadelphia) A woman. quotations ▼ Yo, you see that jawn, she bad as hell.

Does jawn mean girl?

Just hearing that jawn is a pronoun might suggest that a jawn could be any person, but in Philadelphia, it's rarely used for men. And depending on the context, calling a woman or femme-presenting person a jawn could resonate with a range of connotations, from affectionate, to invisibilizing, to stigmatizing.

Is jawn copyrighted?

All materials, including photos, music, illustrations, designs, videos, and written material displayed on this site are copyrights, trademarks and intellectual properties of Jawn Clothing Co. and its subsidiaries/affiliates unless otherwise noted.

Is jawn cultural appropriation?

Jawn is more original and Philly-specific, allowing it greater customization. But at a certain point, its usage becomes cultural appropriation. Yes, even if you live within a culture, you can still misappropriate it.

Do they say jawn in New York?

When I moved from North Carolina to Philadelphia a few years ago to teach at Gwynedd-Mercy College, I noticed a lot of things that were unique to the city. The way natives say “wooder ice,” the devotion to pretzels and cheesesteaks, and … “jawn.”

What are some Philly slang words?

What does Boul mean in Philly?

But words that haven't been branded get all sorts of spellings. Philadelphia has no shortage of residents who insist that the way they spell “boul” — a Philly word for "boy" — is the only way that's true.

Is jawn slang for joint?

A brief history of jawn

I hate to break it to you, Philly, but linguists agree that jawn actually comes from New York City and is derived from the word “joint,” which is deeply rooted in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), but its history goes back to around the time of emancipation.

What does cop a jawn mean?

Verb. The act of waiting for a drop by getting to a store hours or even days before it opens, in hopes of being the first person to cop some jawns, or eagerly-anticipated grails.

Is jawn Scrabble word?

Alas, the Merriam-Webster new word list just came out, and there's no “jawn.” The list includes an utterly whopping 370 new words. Among them: yeet, janky, lewk and pwn. Yes, pwn.

What does JJ mean in slang?

JJ stands for "just joking." If someone you're chatting with sends you JJ, it means their last statement was a joke. These days, most people use the acronym JK (which stands for "just kidding") in place of JJ.

What is a junt?

ˈjənt. plural -s. chiefly Scottish. : large amount : chunk.

Is Yo a Philly word?

Yo /ˈjoʊ/ is a slang interjection, commonly associated with North American English. It was popularized by the Italian-American community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1940s.

How do you say water in Philly?

The word water is commonly pronounced /ˈwʊtər/ (with the first syllable rhyming with the word put, so that it sounds like "wooter" or "wooder"), rather than the more standard English /ˈwɔtər/. This is considered by many to be the defining characteristic of a Philadelphia dialect, even among young Philadelphians.

How do Philadelphians say hello?

1. Yo. Yes, “yo” is said just about everywhere in the country, but it's almost exclusively how we say “hello” in Philly. The greeting of “yo” can vary in meaning, though, depending on intonation.

What words do Philly people say weird?

What are some NYC slang words?