I'm looking for a booklet

[Joe Pickett]

I've always wondered about the range of the redundant compound "soda pop." If
pop is midwestern and soda is eastern, who drinks soda pop?

Any opinions on this?


Joe Pickett
Executive Editor







Anne Lambert <annelamb at GNV.FDT.NET> on 01/26/2000 03:27:13 PM

Please respond to American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
cc:    (bcc: Joe Pickett/Trade/hmco)
Subject:  Re: I'm looking for a booklet



In my (unpublished) master's thesis on regional names of various kinds of
fast food, I note that my survey found "pop" in Ohio, Phoenix, and Denver;
Carver calls it "Inland North-and-West." "Soda" is Northeastern, sometimes
Texas and Phoenix.  It seems to me also to be universally used in
California, which has other Northeasternisms like "Catty-corner."  I never
heard "soda" until I came East from Chicago in 1981; to me "soft drink" was
the generic and "soda" referred to soda water or ice-cream soda.
    The DARE entry on "bag" is unsatisfactory and does not give regional
distribution.  I always said "bag" until I came here to Gainesville, FL,
where "sack" is used for paper bags; now I use it too.  We do however say "a
brown bag lunch."

Jan Kammert wrote:

> I'm a middle school teacher and I'm looking for a booklet with different
> usages for different areas of the country.  I used to have something
> similar about 20 years ago... it showed where people say "bag" vs. "sack"
> or "pop" vs. "soda."  I'm looking for something easy enough for middle
> school students to understand.  Can anyone on this list offer me any
> suggestions?
>
> Jan Kammert                             McMurray Middle School
> American Studies                        9829 SW Cemetery Road
> 206-463-9168, ext.270                   Vashon WA  98070
> write at wolfenet.com                      USA