I stumbled upon an entry at one of my fave sites, Strange Maps, which graphically depicts which term Americans use when asking for a soft drink.
Check it out. You can see where I grew up in upstate New York, we call it Soda. But from about Syracuse westward it is Pop. Here in Chicago where I now live it is Pop.
I know that some of my New England friends still use the word Tonic. And some of my Southern friends use the word Coke to generically describe soft drinks. As in a recent exchange on the show Sordid Lives:
Would you like a Coke?
Sure!
What kind?
Dr. Pepper.
4 comments:
I'm so glad that someone has finally taken the time to document this important fact! ;-)
Seriously though, I've noticed this a lot when I travel. As a SoCal girl, I've always called it soda. In MA, where my Dad lives, they call it pop. My husband, the NewJerseyNorthCarolinaFloridian just takes whatever is handed to him. I think he calls it soda.
It's always been soda for me and the map proves it. Plus my Mom always called it soda as well.
Love this map and the little bit of trivia.
fM
Here in Southwestern Ontario it is called pop - both singular and plural. However, across the border in Southeast Michigan,I have heard people use it this way: pop means just one, and pops is more than one, as in "I'm going to get some more pops; do you want one?"
Growing up in Ohio I called it Pop. Then I moved to Texas & my generation & older calls it soda. My kids all call it "coke" - the exchange at the bottom is similar to those I've heard in my house for over 20 years!
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