Hello, friends and family in Texas! If you guys have a minute, can you shoot me an email or post a comment here and let me know this: Do Texans refer to soft drinks as "soda" or "pop"? Does it matter depending on the region? If so, I'm talking about West Texas.
I suppose it's just a small thing and probably doesn't matter that much because Zara is pretty much anything but native to Texas, though she has spent most of her life there. But I know this is one of those hot-button language issues that might jar someone out of reading the story long enough to say, "Hey, they don't say 'soda' in Texas!" Like if she wanted to get a drink out of the bubbler or something. No, I'm not making fun of Wisconsinites for their word choice. After all, I'm from Illinois and we refer to it as a water fountain, which I'm told is supposed to refer to things like Buckingham Fountain.
I think my friend Ed used to have a map of the U.S. outlining which states said soda and which ones preferred pop. And which ones were really unusual and used "Coke" to refer to all soft drinks : )
Anyway, here's a fun little language quiz on this very topic (how vocabulary varies based on location). Please don't be offended by the whole Yankee/Dixie thing. I don't know that anyone would be, but just in case. It's just about language, not anything else. I took it once and ended up right in the middle (50%, A Dixie but barely) and then I took it again, thinking more about my answers and ended up at 47% which made me a Yankee. I'm not too surprised that it's not clear, as I spent a few years living in the Carolinas when I was young. Plus, southern Illinois can be really Southern. I also lived there for a few years as well.
Other language things I think about...what's the difference between a sofa and a couch? Why do some people use one word over the other? Is it regional? Generational? I believe I've also heard it referred to as a davenport or a divan. This has nothing to do with the sequel. This is just me, thinking too much : )
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7 comments:
In Houston the term coke is used for soda. When we first moved here and ordered a Coke, we would be asked what kind of coke do you want? I don't know what people say in West Texas, I will ask some friends and see if they know.
Stace,
I took the quiz and scored 36% definitely a Yankee.
Stac
OKay this is scary. That little quiz, you posted. I scored the following:
52% (Dixie). Right on the Mason-Dixon Line
How spot on is that?
In El Paso (very West Texas), all soft drinks are "cokes." I always assumed this was an Hispanic thing. But my writing/critique partner says that she used this term in Indiana.
Anyhoo, you asked.
Thanks for the help, you guys! I think--Ed, correct me if I'm wrong--that people on some parts of the East Coast also use "coke" to refer to all soft drinks. They also have a really funny way of pronouncing the word "orange"--which gets them teased mercilessly by their Midwestern college friends! : )
The web site you referred to was http://www.popvssoda.com/
Coke tends to be mid atlantic and south. Soda is a very northeastern thing to say too.
Thanks for the web address, Ed. I was pretty sure you were the one who brought that to my attention.
That's interesting about soda being a northeastern thing. I've always said soda. At least, I did until I got to high school and someone told me that was "weird" and I should say pop instead. But I've never lived anywhere near the northeast.
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