I recently had occasion to read the Wikipedia entry for colloquialism. The entry itself was brief but included an illustration I’d never seen before, a U.S. map showing the use of the synonyms coke, soda, and pop across the country:
(click map to enlarge)
I grew up in Oklahoma City and pop was our word of choice. When we said Coke, we meant an actual Coca Cola. I still can’t imagine saying “coke” if you mean anything other than a real Coke.
When I moved to upstate New York for a few years, I was very conscious of everyone’s use of the word soda and adapted, just to fit in. When I moved back to Oklahoma and then to Colorado, I retained soda to a large degree, perhaps because it seemed more dignified than pop. Of course, the origin of both terms was soda pop, which I used at one time or another, along with soft drink.
So, is the map accurate for you and where you live? We’re such a mobile society, it’s amazing to me that any of these regionalisms survive. If you live in one of those areas marked “other,” what term do you use?
Wikipedia has another entry on “names for soft drinks” which details terms used all over the world, in addition to names and usages in the U.S. (note the “others” category on the map.)
Now I’d like to see a map on hoagie, gyro, hero, submarine, and poor boy.
Sometimes I say, “you want a soda pop?” ROFLMAO- I’m so weird!
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I knew we had a lot in common!
Posted by Mabs | November 18, 2009, 1:44 am MSTYes, this is pretty accurate! I currently live in Hamilton County, Ohio, and here, it’s “pop” for everything, but just over the Mason-Dixon line, it switches very quickly (within 30 miles) to “coke.” When I lived in Minot, ND, it was also “pop” but in El Paso County, CO (Colorado Springs), it could be anything – “soda” is not accurate for there, more accurate for Denver Metro, as Colorado Springs is a military town (USAF and Army) and people there are from everywhere, so you hear it all. I worked in a military package beverage store in Colorado Springs and can verify that. Check out Alpha Dictionary’s site – there’s a great test about regional colloquialisms called “Are you a Yankee or are you Dixie?”
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I hadn’t thought about military bases. That might explain those odd counties that are so conspicuously different from the surrounding area, just like El Paso County. I’ve been really curious about those.
I’ll be checking out that Alpha Dictionary test. Betcha anything I’m hopelessly Dixie.
(Not totally hopeless, it turns out out. My score was “74% Dixie. Your neck must be a just little rosy!” Very interesting, reading all the answers. Then I moved on to the advanced test and scored “31% Dixie. You are definitely a Yankee.” Thanks for the tip, Joana. I’ve really enjoyed poking around at this website.)
Posted by Joana | November 24, 2009, 10:56 am MSTP.S. “Hoagie” is retained here in greater Cincinnati, although this is supposedly Pittsburghese that came down the river (like everything else in that place).
Posted by Joana | November 24, 2009, 10:58 am MST