The use of the word “jawn” is getting out of hand. It’s on billboards, T-shirts, coffee mugs, even food! But the origins of the word are kind of murky. What is for sure though is that Philadelphians feel strongly about how “jawn” is used and who gets to say it. Recently, City Cast Philly host Trenae Nuri sat down with Dr. Taylor Jones, a linguist who focuses on regional accents in African American English, to learn more about its history and the debate about ownership and identity of language.  

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