Jawn

Philadelphia slang term

The word Jawn in graffiti style text

Jawn is a slang term local to Philadelphia and, by extension, the Delaware Valley that may refer to a thing, place, person, or event, substituting for a specific name. Jawn is a context-dependent substitute noun; a noun that substitutes for other nouns.[1] Jawn can be singular or plural. Examples include: "These jawns are expensive!",[2] "pass me that jawn", "that new jawn", "this jawn is packed".[3]

Jawn is believed to be derived from the word "joint".[4][5] 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'.[6]

## Culture

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* "Da Jawn" (1996) is a song on Kollage, the debut album of Philadelphian rapper Bahamadia; it features fellow Philadelphian band The Roots.
* In the song "It's All For You" (1997), Mr. Eon of the Philadelphia rap duo The High & Mighty says: "Somewhere in Philly, they call me 'the jawn'".
* In the film Men in Black II (2002), while Agent J is explaining to Agent K that they replaced the car from the first movie, he refers to the car as "that old jawn."[citation needed]
* In the song “November Has Come” (2005), a collaboration between MF DOOM and Gorillaz, the line: “That said, nah, fo'real-a, the Villain on a Gorilla jawn?” appears, where the word “jawn” is used in the place of “song” or “album.”
* In a scene in the 2015 Philadelphia-based feature film Creed, the character Bianca explains to Adonis Creed the meaning of jawn.[7]
* Skate Jawn is a skateboard magazine, founded in 2010 in Philadelphia, PA.[8] The original name of the magazine was Skate Jawn Mag Jawn.[9]
* In the song "Routine" by Wale, Akintimehin states, "Philly women really chillin' with me / Now I really can't stop sayin' jawn." which references his time spent in Philadelphia.[10]
* The documentary Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), is referred to in the opening credits as "A Questlove Jawn". Questlove originated from Philadelphia.[11]

## See also

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* Philadelphia English
* Da kine

## References

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1. ^ Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century. Cambridge University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-1-139-45133-8.
2. ^ "Philly-Original 'Jawn' Being Considered As Official Dictionary Word: Merriam-Webster". NBC Philadelphia. October 5, 2017.
3. ^ "JAWN: PHILADELPHIA'S MULTI-PURPOSE SLANG WORD, EXPLAINED". Allegiant Goods Co. September 15, 2021.
4. ^ "Some Jawn About 'Jawn'". Merriam-Webster. October 4, 2017.
5. ^ "Merriam-Webster analyzes 'jawn,' the Wawa of words". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 5, 2017.
6. ^ https://goinnorth.org [bare URL]
7. ^ "The Brilliance of the Cheesesteak Scene in 'Creed'". The Ringer. February 15, 2018.
8. ^ "Skate Jawn Interviews". Maine Skateboarding. Retrieved November 16, 2019 - via blogspot.com.
9. ^ "Skate Jawn on zines, scenes, and DIY content". www.thegreenzine.co.uk. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
10. ^ "Routine, Wale, Featuring Rick Ross & Meek Mill Lyrics". Genius.com.
11. ^ Hulu (July 2, 2021). "What is Jawn". Hulu. Retrieved July 3, 2021.

## External links

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Look up jawn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* The Enduring Mystery of ‘Jawn,’ Philadelphia’s All-Purpose Noun

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

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