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From: http://popvssoda.com/

Drink up!
-Ed

Many hardcore Massachusetts residents call it "tonic."  As in, "I'll have a cheesburger, fries, and a tonic."  This word was much more prevalent when I was a kid.  Now, a lot of people in this area say "soda," especially when they talk to people from other states.  But the diehards still call it tonic.  It's great to walk into a pizza shop in Boston and see something like, "Today's special: two slices of pizza, chips, and can of tonic: $5.00."

I'm in an 80 - 100% pop county.  What's with Eastern Missouri / Western Illinois?  An outbreak of soda people right in the middle of a pop/Coke  area?  And New Mexico?  Man, talk about indecisive. 

In Tennessee no matter what soda it is. It is always referred to as a "coke". Its pretty strange when you think of it. People are also starting to say Soda more here now as well.

In TN, you might get your ass kicked for saying "pop".  "Soda" is slightly acceptable.  Generally, someone will just say "coke" or the actual name of the soft drink they want.

Most around here in the Philly/South eastern PA/Jersey area noticeably say soda. Some people moved in from the midwest and called it pop, and we looked at them strangely. And they looked at us strangely when we pronounced water as 'wooder' but that's another topic entirely.

Typical to transplant regions, you get all types here in Phoenix, AZ. I would say I hear "soda" more than most, however. In my neighborhood growing up, most people just said the specific brand, or "soda."

In many parts of RI they ad an "R" to the end of "soda".  Its lame.

Why would you say Coke if it wasn't Coke?

I like to say Soda. I don't like the sound of Pop. Up here in Minnesota they call it Pop.

Calling everything Coke does seem a little confusing.

It's pop here in Ontario, and pop seems to be the standard in parts of Canada I've visited.

I have a LOT of relatives from New England, I understand. Popular joke in the family: "Where did the "R" in Bar Harbor go? It went to Africa."   :bouncegiggle: It only makes sense if you understand New England accents, though.

Interesting statistics on the site. It does indeed show "pop" in the majority for everywhere in Canada except Quebec, where they prefer to call it a soft drink.

Let's not even get into the fact that iced tea is called sweet tea in many parts of the country.  If you don't say "iced," don't you get confused between cold tea and hot tea?  Here in Massachusetts, we say "iced tea" if we want something cold (like Nestea Iced Tea) or just "tea" if we want hot tea.

We could also have the great sub / grinder / hoagie / hero sandwich debate . . .

For most of my life I've called it pop.  Only within the last ten years or so did I start calling it soda.  I'm not sure why either. 
If you look at eastern Iowa on that map, you'll notice one little county that's yellow.  I live in the county right above it so maybe that's why.  Still, I sometimes get weird looks from people when I call it soda instead of pop.

I have relatives that live in Arkansas and they all call it coke no matter what kind of soda it is.  That always baffled me.  If you want a Sprite, ask for a Sprite.  If you want a Pepsi, ask for a Pepsi.

Le Soda?  Une Drinque Carbonique?

Anyone who comes to Massachusetts from one of those "Coke" states and asks for a Coke is gonna get a Coca Cola . . . not a ginger ale or a root beer or a Pepsi . . . just a damn Coke!

Indiana is historically "pop", as in "I want a WhistlePop"

I have an aunt that came to visit from Georgia.   I was born there and it is usually sweet tea.  However, I'm more familiar with iced.  After having her tea, I now understand sweet tea.  She would sweeten it to the point you felt your teeth would rot out of your head and then still add more syrup.  Same with Russian Tea.  Oh my southern home, why not cut out the middle man and just put sugar in a glass. 

Soda I hear more then anything else.  However, it seems my area is Coke in central OK. 

I don't live very far south, but far enough that unless someone specifies hot tea then tea (usually referred to as unsweet) or sweet tea is iced.

As for the pop and soda, I always say soda or soft drink, never pop, although I hear a lot of people call it everything, including Coke.  Pretty sure I've referred to soft drinks as Cokes on occasion.

I interchange "Soda" and "Coke" but I don't identify with with any regional dialect.  Too much childhood moving and one non-american parent.
0Ed

. . . although, people in Massachusetts due tend to ask for "Coke" when they really mean "cola."  Most of the time when the waiter or waitress asks, "We don't have Coke; is Pepsi okay?"  The person will say, "Yes."  So, it's really a cola beverage they want, not necessarily a Coke.  I also noticed many countries outside the U.S. don't know what "Coke" is.  They use the full "Coca Cola" name, rather than the "Coke" nickname.

"I would like a non-diet cola flavored beverage of your choice, held at appoximately 4 degrees celcius in a vessel not less than 16 ounces."

I call it what it is. If it's a root beer, I say root beer. If it's a coke, I say coke. If it's carbonated sewage, I say Dr Pepper.

That is actually a peeve of mine. I just want whatever cola is available. If I say Coke, it's meant in the generic sense, as one would call any tissue a Kleenex. Of course, waitresses always want to clarify when they don't have that brand, which is no big deal in and of itself. Some people are fussy about stuff like that. The problem comes when I try to streamline things by just asking for a cola, and they still want to know if the brand they carry is all right. I've even asked for "whatever cola you have" and waitresses still asked if Pepsi/Coke was all right. Arrrrgghh! :hatred:

Awww, come on.  It's not all bad.  Makes an especially interesting quasi candy when left on a grill too long because you want to glaze a pork loin. 

Our generic term for sweet fizzy drinks is soft drink.  But most people call it by the brand name of whatever they want: coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc.  But I don't drink any of it, so I'm a little out of the loop.

When I lived in Canada, I asked for lemonade at a local pizza joint.  Being the green Aussie I was, I assumed they would give me Sprite or something similar (because that's what lemonade is in my country).  Imagine my surprise when the waitress actually brought me lemonade.  The stuff made with actual lemons, sugar and water  lol  :buggedout:

When I complained to the then husband, he said "if you wanted Sprite you should have asked for it."  lol

I never made that mistake again.  :teddyr: