In Philadelphia, they call
they way they talk "Fluffyan." That's the way
the name of the city is pronounced, if you're from
Fluffya. It's sort of like swallowing syllables the way
a fan of “dah Fills” (The Phillies baseball team)
might swallow a “jeez take” (cheesetake), the
Fluffyan national dish.
If you've seen the 1976 movie Rocky, you've
heard Fluffyan spoken like a near-native. Sylvester
Stallone nailed the accent and the lingo perfectly, as
well as the attitude ('addytood'). As the never-say-die
prizefighter Rocky Balboa, Stallone says "yo"
a lot. At one point Balboa, the neighborhood wanna-be
prize fighter - who is courting his soon-to-be
sweetheart and wife, Adrian - says: "Yo, Adrian,
I'm not used to tawkin' to a door."
To be fair, there's another variation of
Philadelphian spoken in the area - don't ever call it a
'neighborhood' - known as the Main Line. Think Katharine
Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, or Grace Kelly
(a native Philadelphian) in High Society.
The
Origins of "Yo"
It turns out, Philadelphia didn't invent the word
"Yo." The expression dates back to 15th
century English, according to an editor of the
Dictionary of American Regional English. Click
here to listen to Peter Clowney of Philadelphia
member station WHYY explore the nuances of speaking
"Fluffyan."
A
Brief Lexicon of Fluffyan
Ant: Aunt
A cup uh cawfee: A cup of coffee
Bee Yoo Dee Full: Beautiful
It Lee: Italy
Jeez Take: Cheesesteak (thinly sliced
steak on a small, long roll)
Jeez Take Wid/Widout: Cheesteak with or
without onions (available at Pat's, 9th & Passyunk
('Passhunk' in Fluffyan)
Jeet Yet?: Have you eaten yet?
No, ‘Joo?: No, have you?
Payment: A sidewalk
Pixture: A photograph
Sow Fluffya: South Philadelphia
Tanks: Thanks
Widges: With all of you ("Can I go
widges to the game?")
Yo, Supp?: Hi, what’s up?
Yo, hon: What guys say to girls in Philly
Youse: More than one of you
Yiz: A variation of 'youse'
Yizzle: You all will
