So then everything that’s not hard liquor would be a soft drink? I’m sorry, but that reasoning doesn’t jive. SODA is where it’s at 
Where are all these people who actually call soda “soft drinks.” I’ve never heard anyone outside of commercials use that term in my life.
“Honey we’re recovering Christians.”
–Tori Amos - In the Springtime of his Voodoo
My family and I have always called them “soft drinks”. And we are not prissy or uptight people.
I cannot be sure that the majority of other Californians say “soft drink”, (though certainly never “pop”) but I’ve never gotten a strange look or comment for using the term. I am sure I’m not the only one who uses “soft drink”. It is certainly a regional thing.
I’ve never been to CA, so that might explain why I’ve never heard it spoken. I still think the term is silly, though
“Honey we’re recovering Christians.”
–Tori Amos - In the Springtime of his Voodoo
Soft Drink is a perfectly common term. Perhaps, Neutron, you’re referring to ‘Carbonated Beverage’ because nobody outside of Official PR Land talks that way
In New Zealand and here in Aussie, they have the term ‘fizzy drinks’ which I think is perfectly apt, and I still use a lot.
Being a native Southern Californian, I have to agree with Yosemitebabe. I’ve always heard “soft drink”.
When I hear “pop” I think of someone I knew from Indiana who used the term, and when I hear “soda” I think of “sooooda” and Fargo.
At fast food restaurants, the question is “And your drink…?” They’re almost always listed as “beverages”, but no one I know actually uses that term.
Well, I just got back from my local Winn Dixie supermarket, and the sign over the aisle with the Coke and Pepsi in it said “Soda and Beverages.” Odd, since, like I said, everyone here calls it pop.
“Honey we’re recovering Christians.”
–Tori Amos - In the Springtime of his Voodoo
“Soda” and “soft drink” are about equal in use as generics in my experience. While I and my friends were always familiar with the fact that “some people call it pop” or “…soda pop”, the only occasion on which that term came into common play was when someone used the joke (or a variation on it) “I don’t drink anything stronger than pop. {two beats} Of course, Pop’ll drink just about anything!”
“Coke” as equivalent to generic soda, or even cola, was never common in upstate New York and is not common here in North Carolina either. Of course, that may have a lot to do with the competitor which advertises around here as “Born in the Carolinas.” 
neutron star wrote:
I have heard that in Georgia too, neut. I believe that was the name used for soft drinks in the early days. (I have seen old soft drink bottles with the phrase “soda water” on them.)
I have also heard old timers refer to soft drinks as “dopes”, as in: “If you’re going to the store, bring me back a dope.” They might be more specific by saying “Bring me a co-cola dope.” (co-cola=coke in southern dialect, for the uninitiated)
When I was a kid in the 70’s everthing was “coke” as in “Bring me a coke!” “What kind?”
“Oh…a Grape Nehi…”
Nowadays, I think most southerners are falling into the habit of saying soft drink. One more regional colloquialism down the tubes…
Johnny:
I grew up south side Irish. I say “soda”.
Actually the burbs, Highland Park.
Missy2U
Liar! I’ll bet you’re from Berwyn!
Seriously, though, this topic comes up a lot because I’m living in the south, where people act like I hit them in the head with a rubber mallet whenever I say pop,' and for some bizzare reason brag about how they use Coke’ for everything. But I’m not the only Chicagoan here, and I’ve talked to others from the south side, from my own neighborhood, Uptown, from the north and west suburbs, black, white and Puerto Rican, and all of them say `pop’ and they all get shit from these hillbillies about it.
Before this thread came up, I had never heard of a Chicagoan who said soda.' Of course, I have also long been insisting that *real Chicagoans* never call it Chi-town.’ I continue to insist on this, despite the evidence to the contrary.
But I don’t buy, as Cooper says, that:
Because the last time I was up there, which was Thanksgiving, `cold pop’ was still ubiquitous on signs all along the street.
Regarding the “genericizing” of a brand name:
The companies that own the brand names fight like mad against their name being used as the generic. Why? Because of an old, long-standing law on the trademark books:
No generic or household word for a product can be used as a trademark.
You young whippersnappers probably weren’t around to remember this, but back in the Good Old Days [TM], Zipper was a brand name. So was Refrigerator. These two brands lost their brand-name status when the Patent & Trademark Office declared these named to be household words used to describe metal slide-fasteners and automatic ice-boxes, respectively.
Since that time, companies have taken great pains to ensure that their brand names are not taken to indicate anything but their own products. It’s Sanka[TM] brand decaffeinated coffee, Caterpillar[TM] brand tractors, Tabasco[TM] brand pepper sauce, Band-Aid[TM] brand adhesive bandages, Jell-O[TM] brand gelatin dessert, Shredded Wheat[TM] brand breakfast cereal, Post-It[TM] brand sticky notes, and Jeep[TM] brand … uh, jeeps.
– tracer, whi used to work for a subsidiary of Xerox[TM]
I feel obliged to report that in Cambridge, MA there are still some people who refer to all fizzy soft drinks as “tonics.”
I grew up in the the Northern Indiana/Chicago area and we called it “pop.”
Re: What you call it… I will answer thusly:
Coke is a specific type of soda.
Re: Trademarked names
This iis where beiing a Scrabble guy comes in handy. You see, in order to become a club leader, you need to pass their test. In this test, while some of it deals with things specific to the game itself, an overwhelming portion of the exam is all about the correct way to promote the game.
It would be really easy for Scrabble to become a generic term for a board game, and Hasbro (Scrabble’s owner these days) fights tooth and nail to keep it theirs.
It’s obvious what’s at stakee if you get right down to it. I don’t recall anyone going to the druggist looking for some salicylic acid lately. But everyone knows what aspirin it…
Yer pal,
Satan
Yeah. Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, chemically similar to, but distinct from, other salicylic acids (which were in fact tried as analgesics before the acetyl variety came along).
Would that be Advil or ibuprofen?
As for an adhesive bandages… just give me a plaster!
I think there is some danger in using the brand name; however, I believe it is more to our advantage that this occurs.
Companies are going to strive to be that brand name… Band Aid, Turtle Wax, Advil… and other companies are going to strive to out-do the popular name brand… thus creating competition.
Just a late night opinion 
Beth
PS Miss me Satan 
Avoid the pop/soda/soft drink issue–drink beer.
Dr. J
PS: Regarding brand names–is there any other company that makes Zambonis?
Well, I have heard “Soft drink” used up here in Central California. Actually, Soda, Coke, and Soft Drink are pretty much interchangeable, from my experience. You would be understood if you asked for a soft drink, but not if you asked for pop (unless the person you asked is familiar with what that means to you midwesterners :)).
As an aside, to my friend Liz, all soft drinks are Coke, because she only drinks soft drinks made by the Coca-Cola company (dad was employed by Coca-Cola in the Philippines so she feels a loyalty to him, and coke). An easy way to piss her off is to bring Pepsi into her apartment knowingly.
I myself am an incorrigible conlang slut. I love oral lex.
‘Pop’ sounds stupid, but I’m from the north so it’s ‘pop’ TILL I DIE!
I use “pop” too. Even if is does sound silly. (Goin’ shoppin’ this weekend, gotta get a case of pop! – Always Diet Coke, as I was born with the Coke gene. I’m sure many of you were born with the Pepsi gene and drink only Pepsi…but we’ll save that for another thread.) I image that “soda pop” was shortened to just pop and is completely acceptable to those of us who use it. (Yes, I know it sounds silly! I said that in the second line! BTW: Does anyone know what “pop” means or where it comes from when used in the food and drink sense? We have soda pop, lollipops, freezee-pops, etc. Maybe it’s one of those “a-rama” words.
My fate keeps getting in the way of my destiny.