free variation in pronunciation

[Frank Abate]

Alice F said (in passing, and maybe in jest):
>>
On the other hand, there was playground argumentation
about "soda" vs "pop", but I never had any question in my mind that
"soda" is right and "pop" is silly.
<<

I was born in the Detroit area and raised there and in the Cleveland area.
We always said "pop" for a carbonated soft drink.  A "soda" was what you got
at an ice cream parlor, made with ice cream, soda water, flavoring, and
maybe whipped cream and a cherry.  So "soda" meant something very different.

Having learned English where I did, "pop" was the natural and unquestioned
slang term.  "Soda" in the "pop" sense seemed silly, confusing, East Coast,
or all of these.  (Footnote: For someone from Ohio, characters on TV who
spoke like Bugs Bunny or Archie Bunker seemed not only comical but almost
unreal.  Then I moved to the Northeast . . .)

I remember a college friend from NYC who, when in Ohio, went to a Friendly's
(or some such), and was ordering lunch.  The waitress asked what he wanted
to drink.  He said, "Oh, I guess I'll have a soda."  She said, "What flavor,
chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla?"  He was puzzled for a moment until he
remembered where he was.

Now that I have been in the Northeast for almost 20 years, I always say
"soda" for a carbonated soft drink, because otherwise you get funny looks.
But my brother (2 years older) and his Ohio-based family still say "pop" for
Northeast "soda".  I notice this when I am out in Ohio visiting, but I
understand.

It's all a matter of regional slang, in this case.  Neither one is silly or
right.  It's just the coin of the (local) realm.

And if you were just kidding, Alice, I understand.  But it did prompt these
observations on slang usage.

Frank Abate