Jawn is a

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

term local to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

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. Jawn can be singular or plural. Examples include: "These jawns are expensive!", “Pass me that jawn.”, "That new jawn.", “This jawn is packed.” 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 A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...

Culture

* "Da Jawn" (1996) is a song on '' Kollage'', the debut album of Philadelphian rapper

Bahamadia Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American hip-hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, '' Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released EP ''BB Queen'' in 2000. She ...

; it features fellow Philadelphian band

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

. * In the song "It's All For You" (1997), Mr. Eon of the Philadelphia rap duo

The High & Mighty The High & Mighty is an American hip hop duo from Philadelphia, composed of rapper Mr. Eon ("The High", b. Erik Meltzer on February 16, 1972) and music producer DJ Mighty Mi ("The Mighty", b. Milo Berger on September 1, 1972). Career Their ...

says: "Somewhere in Philly, they call me 'the jawn'". * In the film ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...

'' (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." * In the song “November Has Come” (2005), a

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

between

MF DOOM Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

and

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

, 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 A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

'', the character Bianca explains to

Adonis Creed Adonis "Donnie" Creed (born Adonis Johnson) is a fictional character from the follow-ups to the ''Rocky'' film series: ''Creed'' (2015), ''Creed II'' (2018), and the upcoming ''Creed III'' (2023). The character is played by Michael B. Jordan in ...

the meaning of ''jawn''. *''

Skate Jawn ''Skate Jawn'' is a skateboarding magazine founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2010 by Marcus Waldron. Skate Jawn produces a bimonthly magazine as well as a yearly photo issue. Skate Jawn releases video content and premieres skate videos v ...

'' is a skateboard magazine, founded in 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. The original name of the magazine was S''kate Jawn Mag Jawn.'' * 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. * The documentary '' Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)'', is referred to in the opening credits as "A

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

Jawn". Questlove originated from Philadelphia.

References

External links

The Enduring Mystery of ‘Jawn,’ Philadelphia’s All-Purpose Noun
American slang Culture of Philadelphia {{philadelphia-stub

Culture

See also

References

External links