Yo
Encyclopedia
Yo is an English
slang
interjection
, commonly associated with American English
. It was highly popularized after being used commonly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
since the 1970s.
s and African American
s in their Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
communities.
It is used to signify informality, close cultural understanding, and to indicate communal bonding. It remains very popular among Philadelphia Italian American
s, possibly arising from the Italian language
word io (meaning "I"). In Italian, first person statements are often proceeded by io, thus the yo at the beginning of sentences in Philadelphia may have evolved from this. There are various examples, however, of individuals of certain age groups adopting the use of yo as a greeting within their set. While this arrangement may have originated in inner-city areas and with persons of similar ethnic backgrounds, as the popularity of rap music and related culture spread, so did the usage of yo.
Although often used as a greeting, yo may come at the end of a sentence, often to direct focus onto a particular individual or group or to gain the attention of another individual or group. It may specify that a certain statement that was previously uttered is more important, or may just be an "attention grabber".
A famous example of a fictional Philadelphian bringing notice to the expression is Rocky Balboa, where the word is used throughout all of the films, and is part of the iconic line, "Yo, Adrian, I did it!", which was ranked 80th in the AFI's list of 100 best movie quotes.
In the Japanese language
, the sentence-final particle yo is used to emphasize sentences as is often the case in English slang as above, but is etymologically
unrelated. YŌ is also used by Japanese teens as casual greetings between friends, but is pronounced with a more drawn-out tone.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
interjection
Interjection
In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
, commonly associated with American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
. It was highly popularized after being used commonly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
since the 1970s.
Common usage
The term yo arose in Philadelphia and spread from there, after being commonly used among Italian AmericanItalian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
s and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in their Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
communities.
It is used to signify informality, close cultural understanding, and to indicate communal bonding. It remains very popular among Philadelphia Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
s, possibly arising from the Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
word io (meaning "I"). In Italian, first person statements are often proceeded by io, thus the yo at the beginning of sentences in Philadelphia may have evolved from this. There are various examples, however, of individuals of certain age groups adopting the use of yo as a greeting within their set. While this arrangement may have originated in inner-city areas and with persons of similar ethnic backgrounds, as the popularity of rap music and related culture spread, so did the usage of yo.
Although often used as a greeting, yo may come at the end of a sentence, often to direct focus onto a particular individual or group or to gain the attention of another individual or group. It may specify that a certain statement that was previously uttered is more important, or may just be an "attention grabber".
A famous example of a fictional Philadelphian bringing notice to the expression is Rocky Balboa, where the word is used throughout all of the films, and is part of the iconic line, "Yo, Adrian, I did it!", which was ranked 80th in the AFI's list of 100 best movie quotes.
In the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, the sentence-final particle yo is used to emphasize sentences as is often the case in English slang as above, but is etymologically
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
unrelated. YŌ is also used by Japanese teens as casual greetings between friends, but is pronounced with a more drawn-out tone.