It was an ordinary day. Reading in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the word "Jawn." Ever hear it before? I never did until a few days ago when I opened the Inquirer for the first time in a month or so. You have to remember that we here old people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania just don't bother to read much other than our LNP Newspaper. Well, I just wasn't sure what to expect when I read the headline "Jawn makes the big time: It's in a dictionary now." The story in the Inquirer began with....Jawn, Philadelphia's renowned noun with a Swiss Army knife's versatility, is now in the dictionary. Newspaper went on to say, "The big event was announced Wednesday by dictionary.com. which calls itself the leading online and mobile English language educational resource. The word, anyone on SEPTA can tell you, means a thing, place, person, or event that one need not, or cannot give, a specific name to. And now...it has finally reached the point where including it in the dictionary was unavoidable according to Grant Barrett, dictionary.com's head of lexicography. It is said to be Philly's once-humble offering. Jawn will become part of the wider American lexicon, thanks to this citation:
Jawn: noun Informal, Chiefly Philadelphia. Something or someone for which the speaker does not know or does not need a specific name. example: Put some onions on those jawns or they'll be bland. Another example read... It's gonna be crazy at that jawn tonight.
Mr. Barrett was enthusiastic. "Jawn is such a fascinating word, and we've been seeing a steady hum of people looking it up." He added that Jawn is proof that American English isn't monolithic, and that it has room for a regional word with Philadelphia flavor. It is a real win for Philadelphia and in Philadelphia, they take their wins where they can get them." according to Ricki Weisberg of Ardmore who runs a nonprofit public-relations agency. Jawn started flowing into populist culture via the early 1980s hip hop group, Funky 4+1, in the song "That's the Joint." Then, in 2013, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill added to jawn furor with his recording, "Throwback Jawn." Words like jawn inspire pride in Philadelphians, because the word comes from their city. And even if it gets into the dictionary, gaining a broader perspective, one thing will be true: "It will always be associated with Philadelphia." And....so it should be." It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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