Anyone who’s moved to a different part of the country and used what they thought was a universal slang term, only to have been met with raised eyebrows, is well aware that regional expressions endure. Less obvious, perhaps, is where the reach of one term ends and another begins. Case in point: “soda” and “pop.” These are the two most common terms for carbonated soft drinks, and strong linguistic indicators of where in the country you call home.
The issue is so persistent that there are statistical projects and linguistic studies devoted to it, with breakdowns revealing that “soda” is the preferred nomenclature in California, Hawaii, Florida, the Southwest, most of the Northeast, and a few parts of the Midwest. “Pop,” meanwhile, is the go-to for pretty much the rest of the upper half of the country, spanning from Ohio in the Midwest to Oregon and Washington on the West Coast.
Then there’s “Coke,” which is what folks in the South call it — even if it isn’t actually Coca-Cola. Upon asking for a Coke at a restaurant, for instance, a Southerner might then be asked, “What kind?” by their server. The appropriate response could be Dr. Pepper, Sprite, root beer, Pepsi, or even Coke itself — a roundabout process, perhaps, but one that seems to work just fine in the South. (The ubiquitousness of the Coke branding is likely because Coca-Cola was invented by an Atlanta pharmacist in the late 1800s, and the global business giant continues to be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.)
To date, more than 400,000 respondents have contributed to Pop vs. Soda’s statistical database by providing their preferred terminology and ZIP code. This has resulted in a surprisingly comprehensive analysis of perhaps the most telling slang divide in the United States. If you have Swiss heritage and would prefer to remain neutral on the issue, you can split the difference and call it “soda pop.”
