Yo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Yo (disambiguation).
Yo is an American English slang interjection that originated in African-American and Italian-American dialect.
[edit] Origin
No documented evidence for the origin of this word exists. However, Goober Pyle was known to use the phrase in the (late 1960s) American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and its later spin-off series Mayberry RFD. "Yo" originated in the Philadelphia area sometime around the the 1960s 1970s[citation needed]. It is also said to have been used as a greeting by infantrymen in the second World War[citation needed], there is no evidence now to substantiate this claim. It is used in various ways in English, as when answering a roll call, as a greeting or exclamation.
[edit] Usage
"Yo" is also often interchangeable with the word "hey," as in "Yo, what's up?" or, "Yo! Wait for me!" While it can stand alone as a greeting, like the word "hey", it has a wide range of other meanings that depend on the tone, context, and situation. For example:
- If someone is bothering another person, "Yo!" becomes the equivalent of saying,"Hey! Stop it," or "Knock it off!"
- If someone accidentially bumps into another person, the expression "Yo!" could be interpreted as "Watch it" or "What in the world!"
- Another way of saying hi or hello. Such as "Yo!"
- If someone does something that amazes or shocks another person, the word "yo" (usually "yo, yo, yo!") is like laughing or an expression of amazement.
- If someone says something that's the wrong thing to say, someone might say "yo" meaning "not cool," or "you're out of line."
"Yo" can also be used as a substitute for the word "you" e.g "hey you" becomes "hey yo".
"Yo" has also come to be used as an exclamation at the end of a sentence, either to direct focus onto a particular individual or group ("What's up, yo?"), or to strengthen meaning to a particular point, e.g.: "This music is GREAT, yo!"
[edit] Popular culture
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the word became very common in rap songs, often chanted in the background between lines, tying in with the hip-hop and gangsta theme. A parody of such usage forms the basis for a comic exchange between the animated characters played by Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese in Shark Tale (2004), which, along with other demonstrations of its use, can be viewed here. Though its origination cannot be pinpointed, the word's origin clearly predates these recent uses, as is proven by the words of Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone).
"Yo, Adrian, it's me, Rocky."
"Yo, Adrian. We did it!"
"Yo" has even become part of the vernacular of world leaders. On July 17, 2006, President George W. Bush addressed UK Prime Minister Tony Blair with the words, "Yo, Blair. How are you doing?", during a conversation overheard in the margins of the summit of the Group of Eight industrialised nations ("G8") in St Petersburg, Russia. When Blair rose to make a statement in the House of Commons on July 18, he was greeted with cries from the Opposition benches of "Yo!" (Today, BBC Radio 4, 19 July 2006). Former British Government Minister Denis MacShane observed that "Yo, Blair" was the American equivalent of "wotcha, mate" and that metaphorically Bush and Blair had been addressing each other in the French "tu" [you] (as opposed to the more formal "vous") (Times, 22 July 2006).nl:Yo pl:Yo
