So…since the first day I got a blog — almost 6 years ago, I think — I've called this blog my soapbox. Though honestly, I don't usually use it as a soapbox. But today…soapbox!!!! *g*
Oh, it's nothing big. I'm not going to talk about social issues or politics or animal rights.
I'm going to talk about soda. Pop. Coke.
See, I read an Amazon review recently where an author got dinged for not doing her research because the heroine lived in Oregon and called her cola a "soda." And, as everyone knows, Pacific Northwesterners say "pop."
WRONG. I grew up in Oregon, spent my first 23 years there and then moved back several times, and I say soda. Sure, most everyone around me, including most of my family says "pop," but for some reason, I say soda.
What about you? Are you a soda, pop, or Coke (those crazy Texans) type of person? And is there anything you DON'T do that the people in your region are known for?
*climbs down from what wasn't truly a soapbox*
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I grew up in Missouri and always said ’soda’ or ’sodapop’. Moved to California and lived there for 13 years and it was ’soda’. Now that I live in Oklahoma it’s ‘pop’, because that’s what everyone calls it here, so I just picked up the lingo.
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I’m in California and we call it soda. Though when I was young I called everything Coke - and my house was a Pepsi house! I guess I went against the grain. 
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Growing up in Oregon, I called it pop. Now (still in Oregon) I call it soda.
by Meljean
on March 8th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
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Another “soda” girl here. Although, since I only drink Diet Coke, I’m more apt these days to use brand names.
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We say soda in NY. Coke is the best.
by Jane
on March 8th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
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Who cares? If it doesn’t come with a double shot of espresso, it’s not in my vocabulary. 
by Charlene
on March 8th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
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Here in western NY we say pop. I think as we watch more TV and movies & people move around more, the regional dialects get diluted.
by Natasha
on March 8th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
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LOL Charlene!
We say soda in NJ. And speaking of what New Jerseyians are known for…. uh… never mind… there’s just not enough room in this little box to debunk it all! 
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wow–this is some good stuff. Funny how such small things, like what we call soft drinks, can be so different in the same country…and can be the cause of readers getting riled!
by Larissa
on March 8th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
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I’ve been known to say all three, I grew up in South FL, but have also been known to ask for tea, iced tea, or sweet tea (and be asking for the same thing) at least until I gave up sugar in my tea.
Charli, that was too funny. I don’t think you’d want to be around me after I had a double shot of espresso.
by Ann
on March 9th, 2008 at 12:51 am
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Well… I dunno about the soda vs pop thing (where I grew up, we called it refresco, but I’m a bit peeved about a novella where a character is called Father so-and-so and referred to as a priest, which would indicate a Catholic, hence celibate. Yet he’s been widowed a few years and has an adult son, who thinks of his father as a minister–Protestant.
As a recovering Catholic myself, this irked me a lot.
/rant
by azteclady
on March 9th, 2008 at 11:30 am
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When I was young and lived in Minnesota I called it pop. Since moving to Missouri I call it soda because everyone else does here.
by Jerri
on March 9th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
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Actually, the Anglican Church also calls their priests Father (as does the Greek Orthodox). Just sayin’.
by Ann
on March 9th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
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Did you just call me crazy? By the way, it’s not just a Texas thing lol, but southern in general. Though I live in Texas now, I grew up in Louisiana and have lived in Mississippi and Tennessee and it was always coke.
But you know what I really hate? When I order a “coke” and the waitress feels the need to tell me they only have Pepsi products. For the love of God…
So yes, everything is coke. *g*
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oh and I did a brief stint in Southeast Missouri (oh god was I glad to leave lol) and they all called it “sody pop” Drove me absolutely insane.
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Ann, seriously? Wow.
Okay, so on top of everything I’m quite ignorant!
Kidding!
Thanks–it’s good to know, now it won’t bother me the way it did before. ‘Cause the rest of the story was good, you know? and the bit with the Father/priest sort of ruined the whole thing for me.
by azteclady
on March 9th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
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Now, see, Maya…where I was in Mississippi, people said soda…but I think it’s because I was in an area that was full of a mixture of people from all over the U.S. It was a huge military community, too. I think the need to explain the Pepsi products comes from the people who are serious
Coke-aholics. I have a friend who would get IRATE if she ordered a Coke and got Pepsi. Because of that, when I was waitressing, I got into a habit of going over the Pepsi product thing too. People really got pissed when you brought them the wrong thing!
by Larissa
on March 9th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
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I drank Coca-Cola exclusively for the majority of my life, so when I said “a Coke,” I meant, literally, a Coke. Now I’m drinking Diet Pepsi Max with extra CAFFEEEEEEEINE and ginseng!!!–which just rolls off the tongue, so I call it “a Coke.”
Here lately we’ve been calling it “thoda” in honor of a toothless little houseguest.
People move from one region to another, and even stationary people have personal preferences, so it can’t be said that EVERYONE anywhere uses one word. My feeling is, if you know what somebody’s talking about, whatever they call it, there’s no justification to get in a snit over it.
by Kerry Allen
on March 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
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I was raised Texan. A typical conversation before dinner in my home.
“Honey what do you want to drink?”
“Coke, Mom. Thank you.”
“What kind of Coke?”
“Mountain Dew please.”
It’s true. *sigh* I didn’t know it was weird until I met people from outside the state.
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Always Coke, always. (Though my grandmother used to call Cokes/soft drinks “dope”…)
I almost stopped reading a Blaze set in Atlanta because the heroine keeps referring to her soft drink as a soda. Hello!?! Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola!! 
Interesting topic, Larissa!! I wonder whose “fault” these kind of regionalities lies with — author or editor?
by Jana J. Hanson
on March 12th, 2008 at 9:31 am
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Kerry, that’s some serious Pepsi!
Dawn, I remember getting yelled at once when I was bartending in Texas, and someone asked for a Coke…so I brought them a Coke. OMG, the lady FREAKED. She’s like, “I wanted a Sprite!” I’m thiking, well, you should have asked for one instead of a Coke. LOL
Jana, this is where my problem is. Is it truly a “fault?” Should the author have to explain why her character doesn’t use the regionality? I had a friend who grew up in Atlanta, was a debutante, and she said “soda.” (She had reasons — she thought it was “ignorant” to be so generic — keep in mind that this woman stole my identity and ran up about 10k in false charges and messed up my credit, so the fact that she judged others for ANYTHING strikes me as ironic.)
So…if she’s considered odd, does that need to be explained so people don’t get tripped up? I dunno. I tend to think that with the way people move so much, northerners moving south, and vice versa, language and regional terms are blending.
I do, however, wonder when I read a book set in the Pacific NW and the character says “soda,” why they do say that - mainly because “pop” is sort of THE regional term for carbonated beverages. But it doesn’t trip me up for long because I don’t say it, either, and I grew up there.
So should authors explain?
I’m sort of torn…
by Larissa
on March 12th, 2008 at 9:46 am
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Well…maybe I just took “offense” at the generic term since I’m from the south. Then again, maybe there’s trademark references playing a part, too (though another Blaze in the series features a heroine asking for Dr. Peppers all the time.)
I’ve also gotten irritated with a California born and bred heroine called a driveway a car park. 
I even asked some CA friends who said no, it’s a driveway.
Truthfully, I can overlook those minute details if the story is good enough. (Except for the car park reference — I’ve never read another book by the author since.) So I guess *that’s* where the concentration should lie — good storytelling and editing!!
by Jana J. Hanson
on March 14th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
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Oh, and holy crap, Larissa!
by Jana J. Hanson
on March 14th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
