That's pretty cool

Fizz or squash, Fizz is a fizzy drink, squash is not carbonated.

Then again I live in the only country in the world with red lemonde

My Michigan - home to the word 'pop' and Devil's Night! :D

I really think this map is inaccurate around the Rochester, NY region. I never hear anyone say 'pop'! Only soda. Go figure!

I'm from TX, so everything is a coke, then you ask what kind. Now living in NYC, nobody "gets" me :(

Grew up in the north east, live in San Francisco - it has always been soda.
I'm so curious what that big section of "other" is in Alaska. I love how that state is a mishmash of all the options.

I answered soda but I also say coke. Born and raised in Tampa, FL!

Personally I flip flop from soda to coke. One of the reasons for my saying coke is because I am from South America and the influence of Coca Cola has been so extensive that a soda is now a coca no matter what. As for in the South, think about it, Coca Cola started in the South and was based form the South for a really long time so it just became synonymous with the drink, sort of like in South America.

In Afrikaans (my mother tongue) we call it "blikkies koeldrank", which translates to tinned cooldrink. Therefore I fall the the "other" category.

I'm with mywickedways. Growing up in Nashville, when you ordered a Coke, the response was, "Sure, what kind?"

I've got some New England relatives that call it seltzer. They're all of the older generation. Has anyone else heard that?

If you ask a server or bartender for Sprite, it's almost like the generic name for Moutntain Dew or Sierra Mist type drinks. They usually know it can be substituted if they don't carry Sprite. Coke, though, means Coca Cola. Or Cocaine.

I call it "tonic," which is what my parents (who are now in their 70s and were raised outside Boston) call it, as does everyone in my extended family.

Every once in a while you'll hear an old Bostonian call it "tonic." Of course, they're also wearing "dungarees" instead of jeans.

I always call it soda, having grown up in the western US (Nevada, to be precise). At least I thought it was ubiquitous across the West. Therefore I was quite surprised when I moved to Seattle and started seeing "pop" (or, worse, "soda pop") all around. This map helps clarify things!
Some of my older family members (aunts, uncles) say "pop", despite having lived in Nevada for all of their lives, but I suspect that comes from the fact that my grandpa was born and raised in rural Ohio, so they picked up a lot of his speech patterns.

Having grown up in Texas, I say coke. Like @mywickedways mentions above, when you say coke, you nearly always get asked what kind of coke you want. I usually mean Dr. Pepper.

My grandma says soda or soda pop however. With her accent though, soda comes out sounding more like sodie.

We have "sodey pop" (sometimes) and "cokes" where I'm from (Deep East Texas - much more like the Deep South than the Southwest). Definitely not capital-C Cokes - just 'cokes'. As in, "What type of cokes do you want me to bring to the party?"

The day after I moved out of the midwest I had to stop saying pop because I was getting made fun of too much. Now I say soda, and make fun of others who say pop.

Tonic: Boston.

Saying coke as a catch-all for any soft drink makes me cringe. It's not like you'd ask for a Twinkie and then specify a Ho-Ho. You wouldn't order linguine, and then explain that by linguine, you mean macaroni. When I've asked someone for a Kleenex, I don't go on to request a Puffs.

@EMMI, what part of the country are you in? If a bartender gave me a highly caffeinated Mountain Dew instead of a caffeine-free, lemon-lime beverage, I would not be pleased!

"COKE", it's the REAL THING! :) Like @mywickedways "what kind of coke" is the usual here in Mississippi.

I call them soft drinks. Really can't help that i cringe at any other name aside from saying the actual soft drink name.

I am from Texas and always say 'coke', but I do know a few Texans that will say 'sodie water', which I always love, but can't bring myself to use.

Pop. I'm a typical Oregonian.

Soda or Coke. I'm from Indiana which is where I picked up the "coke" but my family is from the west coast, hence the soda.

In Holland, people will say "fris" or "fris drank" (fresh/fresh drink) but that also includes chocolate milk, juices or things masquerading as juices.

I would find seltzer confusing because I've only heard it in the context of carbonated water, sometimes with a bit of flavoring. I also find calling all carbonated drinks "Coke".

I had no idea that coke was used as a generic term. This explains the servers' bewilderment at my bewilderment when, while visiting the South-East U.S., I would order Coke and be asked what kind of coke.

I grew up in a border town in South-Western Ontario where most people say pop. I say soda. I'm guessing 'soda' rubbed off on me after several years of living in a French city where one would order 'un soda'.

Grew up in St. Louis saying soda...but after 12 years in Iowa, I'm almost fully converted to pop. It was so confusing the first time I visited southern states and got asked what kind of Coke I wanted!

I didn't realize that "pop" was so widely spread across America! I thought it was just a Minnesota thing.

@AKAY - hi, I'm in Western Mass (an important distinction because we are so different than Boston). Don't worry, bartenders always ask first. They would say, we have Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, etc, which one would you like? Kind of like Kleenex only they make sure you get the right one. ;)

I always thought Pop was a term only used in movies from the 1930s!

Saying "coke" as a catchall may make you cringe but every place has its bizarre colloquialisms. And there are tons of items we refer to by brand names even if we're asking for or using a different brand. Do you refer chapstick meaning lip balm? Is it actually ChapStick brand? Do you ask for a popsicle on a hot day? Popsicle is a brand too.

When you live in the south (Alabama) just two hours from the home of Coca-Cola and have a Coca-Cola bottling plant in your town your earliest memories of soft drinks are all tied to Coke. It's just a part of our DNA.

I call it by the brand.

All of these are generic catch-alls. If you folks are cringin' over something like this, you have a hell of a lot less to worry about than I do.

I'm a Milwaukeean, so it's "soda", which my Iowa relatives find hilarious.

The discussion here is almost like a "field guide" to colloqualisms. We see it in Biology too. A bird called the robin in the U.S. is a completely different species than what they call a robin in the U.K. That is why the Latin names are so important. I bet someone could write a fascinating history book on what these names hint at when it comes to regional culture. Thanks for such an interesting post!

Had a similar discussion in college 20 years ago. Soda, pop, etc. If you order tea in the south it's iced tea (and usually already sweetened). If you ask for tea up north, you get hot tea. Luggage, baggage, suitcases - reference depends on where you're from. If you order coke in the south they will sometimes ask you, "Orange?"

@ALLIECOOKS, oh I know! That's why I included Kleenex in my examples. I understand calling a whole category by a specific brand, but only when you don't care what brand you use. I'm just has happy using a Puffs as using a Kleenex, so it's all Kleenex to me.

What I'm talking about referring is to a specific product when you mean a different specific product. A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square. All Coca-Cola is a soft drink, but not all soft drinks are Coca-Cola. So if you say you want a Coke and then ask for a Fanta, it will continue to make me cringe.

Louisiana here and its coke. What kind of coke? A Dr Pepper, an orange drink, Sprite, actual Coke, etc. It was always funny to me that;s NOT considered normal to other people. The store at the grocery is the Coke aisle. haha as in "Go pick out some drinks in the coke aisle"

When I was in MI for a while, it drove me bonkers people calling it pop.

I picked soda but every now and then I will refer to it as a "soft drink." That's normal right?

It's "Pop" everywhere in Ontario I've ever lived. Never "Soda", unless you're Kim Mitchell.

I grew up in AZ, so I call it "soda". I moved to MN where everyone calls it "pop"....and they feel the need to correct me or ridicule me. It's a freaking beverage, and you know what I'm talking about! Get over it!

But on the note of being "correct", have any of you ever heard of a vodka pop or a pop jerk? No, It's a vodka soda and soda jerk. "Pop" is just an onomatopoeia ;)

It's funny how riled people get about this, much like the recent question about the correct way to hang toilet paper.

Whatever you want to call it is fine by me: pop, soda, soda pop, soft drink... but it's just weird to say Coke when you mean something that's distinctly NOT Coke. It's like confusing "your" and "you're". They're not the same thing!

Growing up in South Texas we said "sodie water" or "soda water". After getting out of South Texas and traveling some I started using the term "soft drink". Doesn't sound so much like a country bumpkin

TONIC...AND I AM NOT AN 'OLD FOLK' hahaha...but 'we've' weaned ouselves over the years to say 'soda' along with the 'young folk' ha..but you have to say,'tawnic' being an eastern Mass. person...hi out theah emmi!

Heyuh, KEEKS! Happy (sort of) winter to the Boston folk from us out in the boondocks. :)

p.s. the COKE thing in the south is killing me..haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..'it's in the coke aisle' 'what kind of coke' A friend from here, Boston area, moved to Illinois and when talking with him on visits back, i felt like punching him when he would say, 'pop' ...I don't know why...really still makes me feel violentish..It made him sound like a dolt to me....the mentality of 'everything we say or how
we say it...is the RIGHT way' the born and raised of us....old school..argh to me..

I grew up in North Florida and GA and locals often say "coke" for anything (we are quite near the Coke Factory/Museum in ATL). I usually say specifically what I want "coke" "sprite" etc...I rarely say a generic term but I guess If I did, I'd probably say "soda"

gorgeous boondocks emmi! lived in Northampton annnnnnd Huntington as well..but I must say...I don't even drink, tonic/soda, but when a 'kid'..I had to have my 'orangeade'...wonder if they still even make that!

In New England, old-timers call pop "tonic", reflecting it's pharmaceutical origin. The local brand, Polar Cola, based in Worcester, MA, makes a great flavor called Orange Dry. It's like Fresca, only better. Incredibly cool flavored seltzers (completely unsweetened) are available in any grocery store (sadly not the case here in Albuquerque). I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, so I am a "pop".
Note: In my Grandpa's town, a milkshake is called a "frappe" reflecting the influx of French Canadians. Pronounced "frap".

I suspect the most common "other" listed in the South was probably "soft drink." Coke was definitely common, but soft drink was the alternative.

As you might guess, I grew up in Texas, where the question(s) was always "Want a Coke?" "What kind?" Every carbonated beverage was known as "Coke". Doesn't go over so well in Chicago, but I can't bring myself to say pop!

I'm from Texas, where everyone calls it a "coke." That annoys the tar out of me - I call it a SODA. When people call it "pop," I just want to laugh, because it sounds so odd.

I'm Canadian and everyone around that I know calls it soft drink.

I'm from Pennsylvania, and we called it soda growing up. When I moved to Texas and somebody first asked me what sort of Coke I wanted, I was terribly confused.

Soft drink.

I'm definitely in the "What kind of Coke do you want?" category. And please don't offer me a Pepsi. ::shudder::

I'm French Canadian (Quebec) and in my region, we refer it as 'liqueur' (liquor!). I don't know why, but you can imagine English-speaking folk's surprise when they ask the 10 years old girl, who barely speaks English, what she wants to drink and she replies, in a strong accent, "a liquor please!"...

Now that my English is better, I call it pop. I also hear soft drink as well.

Man, this funny because I've always said soda or soft drink even though I grew up Atlanta and Texas..
I've never understood the coke thing.

I grew up in southern California and in the 80s, everyone said "coke" for soda. When I was in my late teens I started saying Soda and still do. I live in Chicago now and everyone says Pop.

Grew up in Ohio calling it "pop" but then my sister moved to North Carolina and for some reason I now tend to call it "soda," even though I live in British Columbia, where it's called "pop." In fact, my husband and I were on a new ferry and he said the interior was done by Americans; I asked how he knew and he pointed to the words stenciled around the upper border in the cafe--it said "soda."

Most often though, I just call it by its brand name. "Do you want a Barq's?" or "A Vernors sounds really good right now."

In NZ/Aus we call it soft drink. Coke is Coca-Cola, the original one (no cherry, lemon, vanilla etc). Any other drink you call it by it's brand name: 7Up, Mountain Dew, Fanta, Solo, Pepsi etc. If you don't tell them you prefer Coke Zero they will bring you just Coke. Some places only sell Coke or Pepsi, rarely both, so the staff will say 'We only have Pepsi.'

For my New Year's resolution I gave up soft drink altogether. The world is a much clearer place :)

In NC we use "coke" and "drink" both for the generic term. Would you like some drink? (meaning any fizzy soda/pop/coke product).
Probably another Other category term. Most everyone I know uses 'drink', until I moved north that is.

I took a linguistics class at UW-Madison, (home of the Dictionary of American Regional English), and remember having a conversation about Soda vs. Pop. I find the regional preference fascinating. I know that unconsciously I switched from pop as a child to soda as an adult---and I live in the land of "Pop" in southwest Wisconsin.

@KEEKS ah, the Five College area! We just love the art scene and the coffee shops there. Heaven. Huntington is really the boondocks. We like Wendell State Forest and DAR state park. Haven't seen Orangeade but Nick's Nest in Holyoke makes some pretty good chocolate malts. :)

Hey SueMac, thanks for that bit of history. I had no idea Polar Cola was based in Worcester.

emmi..many summer days at OCEAN GOSHEN and ohhh yes:NOHO : ) best restaurants and everything else..that's a place where people from all over the world live..and the perfect place to ask their regional names for anything...i.e. frappes,subs, soda and we called the the ice cream truck: the 'dingdong' cart..and boy, when my daughter and I moved back to eastern MA, the odd looks, when she shouted., 'the ding dong cart is comingggggg', from her little new friends..who just called it the 'icecream truck' . Simpson Spring soda out of our new town, Easton, MA, makes their soda out of the pure spring water that flows behind their business...they may even deliver somehow..old family recipe and all that..but pure spring water ..right there!

I am curious about ordering "coke". Once you've told them that you want "coke" and then they respond with "what kind/flavour/type?" and you want some Coca Cola, do you then say "coke" again? That seems awkward. Do you say "cola" Do you say "I want a coke coke"? "I want coke coke?"

I'm from Eastern NC, where when we want soda/pop, we call it "a drink". Now I live in DC and people look at me funny when I ask them "Would you like a drink?", especially if it's during the day. So, now I ask them if they'd like a soda.

Emmi, in fact, whole books are written about this kind of customary and traditional language. Many are written by folklore scholars. You are right to intuit that folklore (such as folk speech) is connected to many interesting aspects of group behavior and regional history.
Take a look at this list for some books that document many fascinating speech customs.

It's all sugar water.

@Rapunzel great boon to my Goodreads list. Thanks very much.

I live in Southern Ontario and everyone I know says "pop". Though we call all soft drinks pop, my husband will often order a "cola" (which bothers me for some reason) because he doesn't care whether it's Coke or Pepsi and most places only carry one or the other.

I'm from Tennessee. It's all coke.
"What kinda coke do y'all want?"
I also have fond memories of youth group devos and bonfires where the sign up/info sheet said "guys bring chips, and girls bring cokes"....and you better believe we showed up with Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Mellow Yellow, Coke, and Root Beer - not just Coke. :)

Ps. @ iria....
If we order coke and they say what kind and we truly want a coke (like coco-cola) we say "regular coke" or "just a coke".

Coke - it's a Southern thing!

Growing up, my family just called all of them soft drinks, or specifically indicated what we wanted by brand name.

Up here in Maine (home of Moxie) its usually tonic.

Soft drinks! Not all of your readers are American ;) In Australia, they're just soft drinks.

When I was living in the States for half a year on exchange, I was in Arizona and got into the habit of calling it soda.

'soft drink' or 'cold drink' in India. Hot drinks, especially chai, are far more popular, and for reasons unknown, a chilled limeade or sour mango drink is not called a 'cold drink'. Probably because the few ingredients they have mean it is easy to give them quite a specific name (nimbu-paani, sherbet, aam panna, etc), as opposed to who-knows-what's-in-there 'soft drinks'!

I grew up (and still live) in Canada. Growing up I called it "pop", but I much prefer the word "soda" nowadays. I lived in England for a while, and people there don't know what "pop" is but they do understand that a "soda" is the same thing as a "fizzy drink"; my use of the word "soda" significantly increased after living there, and I suspect that is why. Additionally, my mom uses the word "pop" and she is very outdated/rural. She still uses the phrases "going with" for dating, and "going out of" when a store or manufacturer discontinues something, etc...

San Diego - a generic soft drink is a soda, but a vending machine for carbonated beverages is a "coke machine." Even if it's an energy drink machine, or a water machine, or (oh no) a Pepsi machine.

I'm from Chicago and I call it soda pop.

I do a combo "soda pop."

"Coke" as a generic term is really interesting to me - and it's I don't think it's the same as "kleenex" or "chapstick", because those are brands of one specific category of product (facial tissue and lip balm).

"Coke" gets used for both Coca-Cola and all other generic *cola* (anything other than Pepsi) around here (Southwestern Ontario), and that, to me, would be the kleenex/chapstick equivalent. But "Coke" as a generic term for all kinds of soft drinks is like Granny Smith for all kinds of FRUIT, let alone apples.

Genuine question: what do you say when you actually want a COKE?

I say pop most of the time, but occasionally soft drink.

I grew up in south central Wisconsin and everyone said Pop, but my parents were from Milwaukee, so they said Soda, and I wanted to be a rebel, so I said Soda (plus I just don't like the sound of "pop"). I have lived in Iowa, Southern California, and Santa Fe, NM - I kept calling it soda and everyone knew what I meant!

I'm from Texas and I say "soft drink". Sometimes I use "coke".

I've always said "soft drink." Though even as a kid I never used the words "soda" or "pop," I I feel like a kid saying them as an adult.