After having lived in several different parts of the country, I have been witness to different accents, traditions and norms. One thing that has puzzled me is the most basic and simple carbonated drink in which many Americans enjoy. But these drinks, what are they? Are they called Soda? Pop? Soda-pop? or if you were in Atlanta a coke? Hmm…any light on this would be appreciated.
Well, up where I come from, people refer to carbonated beverages by yet another name. the call it tonic. The reasoning behind this completely escapes me.
I’ve heard it called a variety of wierd names, in alot of different places.
Seems that alot of people from Michigan call it “Pop”
Alot of Northerners also call it “Tonic”
Even though when I lived in Boston, I realized that there is a HUGE, blatent difference in the drinks physically labeled TONIC, as opposed to a Coke or Pepsi, which they also call Tonic.
It seems the people further south tend call it “Soda” or generalize it all as a “Coke”
People all over, call it “Soda-Pop” though that one seems to date back to like the 40’s and 50’s and I have only heard it called such from Signifigantly older people. But that’s just my experience.
Maybe that it’s a soda water base and the can goes “POP” when you open it? heh. I have no legitimate light on that.
Personally - I call each drink by it’s own name.
But I only drink one, so You’ll only hear me asking for “DEW”!!!
I’ve always wondered this myself - but eventually just pulled a muscle in my head trying, and gave up.
In my ongoing observation of human behavior I’ve noticed kids call it pop and more adults here call it soda. I live in the northwest, so you know, we’re never right. 
This topic has been discussed before, and can get quite heated!
I am from Southern California, where it is called SOFT DRINK. Or perhaps “soda”. But never, never “pop”. (Shudder)
I remember as a kid, we had some friends who were from the midwest. The whole family called soft drinks “pop”. Even though I was maybe 10 years old, I knew already that this sounded lame. It just grated me so much to hear my friends say that. Yech. “Pop” sounds like something is about to bust loose. Or POP! goes the weasel! It is not a proper term for a carbonated beverage.
IMHO*, the’re cokes. The most popular coke is Coke, of course…
I think the FDA calls them carbonated beverages. Anything else is a regionalim.
*[sub]IMHO, the forum of the future!!!
(Well, it’s the forum in this thread’s future )[/sub]
See: http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/ for a map of Pop Vs. Soda territories.
When I was a kid it was invariably “Soda”. “Pop” was only used in comic strips. “Soda Pop” was only in cartoons.
Then I came to Boston and learned about “Tonic”, but I have to admit that its use isn’t as wides[read or as exclusive as people say. “Soda” is used more frequently here, and always understood.
“Coke” I can understand in Atlanta, the home of Coca Cola (that must piss off the Pepsi people). But did you know that for years the Coke people waged a war trying to get their stuff re-classified in France and other countries? It seems the official term used by the French government for soft drinks was “Limonade”, and Coke did NOT want to be called Lemonade. See the book ** For God, Country, and Coca Cola** for details.
By the Way, “Soft Drink” sounds too official and legalistic. It shows up in commercials and menus. Real people would no more say "soft drink’ in a typical situation than they would use the word “genitalia” in an intimate circumstance.
I just usually ask people if they want a drink. Then I say, “something carbonated?”
Works quite well.
To elaborate on what Cal said, I’ve noticed that it’s mostly people of my grandparents’ generation who call it ‘tonic’. Most everyone else refers to it as ‘soda’, though when I was going to school in Boston, the Warren Towers CampCo did have a big neon sign over their soft drink coolers that said ‘TONIC’.
Which is how you spell regionalism when you have forgotten how to type…
FWIW, In the name of fighting ignorance, I called the Coca-Cola information line and asked this question. The rep’s response: “Well it varies, depending on where you live…”, so either there isn’t a standardized name or the pros don’t know this one either. He did mention that Coca-Cola is part of the soft drink industry, adding that this might add some weight for that term being an official designation. He wasn’t aware of any government designation.
He also very ably avoided any comment on the use of the word “coke” as a generic term, which is entirely reasonable, since “Coke” is trademarked.
But it doesn’t matter. They’re still cokes to me…
In the 50’s when I grew up in Washington State, my recollection would be that the definitions were
pop = carbonated non-alcoholic beverage
soft drink = pop or non-carbonated non-alcoholic beverage
soda = ice cream soda
soda water = just the fizzy water
I think with the gradual influence of the eastern establishment and California over the past decades, and the decline in popularity of ice cream sodas, that “soda” is now becoming the standard here, as well, for carbonated soft drinks.
I was a longtime “Pop” sayer, having grown up in Ohio. However, I’ve been living in New York state for 5 years now, and they got to me, so I usually say “soda” now. I resisted at first, but after 2 years or so of explaining why I call it “pop,” I got sick of it and started using “soda” selectively around New Yorkers. After that, I just got used to saying it, and now it feels more natural. When I go back to Ohio and visit my friends, they all laugh when I slip and say “soda.” Usually, I try to switch back to “pop” when I’m back there.
Jman
FWIW, in the New-Orleans area where I grew up, “cold drink” was a commonly-used generic word for “soda”. No one EVER called it “soda” or “pop” unless they were pretty old or from out of town.
Growing up in East Tennessee I just used Coke, still do. Some of the hard core mountain folk that I knew called soft drinks a “cold dope.”
It’s always been soda here in Baltimore. I visited my cousins in Ohio once upon a time and asked for “soda” instead of “pop.” The waitress brought be an ice cream soda.
I’m a real person, everyone in my family is a real person, and we always said “soft drink” - always. We never got funny looks for it, and I am sure that many others around us used the same term as well. (It’s not one of those thing I took note of - some may have used “soda”.) But certainly no one EVER made a comment about how “official and legalistic” the “term soft” drink was, so I have to assume that it sounded normal and natural enough to our fellow Southern Californians.
[vehemently opinionated rant]
It’s called SODA, okay?
As in, “Get me a soda”, or “Do we have any soda?” or “Where’s the soda machine?”
Everyone over the age of 12 who refers to carbonated beverages as [cringe]pop[/cringe] should be rounded up into camps and humanly euthanized.
Thank you for your attention…
[/vehemently opinionated rant]
Well, heres a new twist on things: What about Soda Water? I for sure couldnt call THAT pop… so perhaps I cant call the carbonated drinks with flavored syrup, pop either? Just food for thought!
“Eschew Obfuscation”
In Canada and the Midwest, it is generally referred to as “pop.” Everywhere else in the United States, it is generally referred to as “soda.” Some regions have other terms (e.g. “tonic” in Boston, “coke” in Houston), but in the general sense “pop” and “soda” have it.