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starboardbaby t1_j9i5iit wrote

Reply to comment by harbison215 in Pizza Jawn’s owners are buying a Manayunk bar, which will be called Bar Jawn by Brahette

I’m born and raised in Philly, still live here and go to Temple, and I did hear jawn organically used among (white) native Philadelphians growing up. I was in high school when jawn started really being co-opted by wannabes/transplants/businesses so it stopped being cool with natives then. When my parents were kids in Philly growing up they used jawn but not as frequently as you’d think

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starboardbaby t1_j9i5pdp wrote

This is among white people from South Philly/Roxborough primarily btw

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harbison215 t1_j9i5vik wrote

I was born and raised in philly in 1983, originally juniata Frankford and then far northeast. Spent a lot of time in other neighborhoods. The word obviously existed and still exists in the Philadelphia lexicon, but it certainly isn’t used enough in any real sense to be considered some gem of local vocabulary. It’s hardly used seriously outside of the deep inner city. That’s why someone using it in this way has most of the responses here as “cringe.”

You were born and raised here, so you recognize how it’s use has become somewhat unorganic, especially in this context.

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starboardbaby t1_j9igni9 wrote

Yeah even kids I know at Temple that aren’t from this area at all use it because it’s plastered everywhere and they think it’s “Philly slang”. Definitely more inorganic now among inner city people esp in the past few years.

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