Entry · catalog no. 1330
the function
/ /ðə ˈfʌŋkʃən/ /thuh-FUNK-shun
n. · Bay Area, California / West Coast · 2010s
✓ Verified
1.
A party or social gathering, especially a hood function shared by word of mouth. Often simply 'the function.'
“You pulling up to the function tonight?”
Origin & Attribution
African American Vernacular English, sharpened on the West Coast — the Bay Area used 'the function' for parties in the hood before the wider public took it up. E-40 put it on wax with 'Function' (2012), and it spread through West Coast rap into national use. A Black coinage now often treated as generic party slang.
2000s
Bay Area use for hood parties
2012
E-40 releases 'Function'
2010s
Spreads nationwide via West Coast rap
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
The West
Bay Area, California / West Coast · 2010s
Spoken by
Bay Area and West Coast Black communities
$THEFUNThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady14 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
68/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
2012
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@bayarea
Oakland, CA
@ladi
Los Angeles, CA
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
E-40, 'Function,' The Block Brochure — 2012
recording · cited
■
+ Cite a sourceDocumented Bay Area / AAVE origin
reference
See also