free variation in pronunciation

[ANNE V. GILBERT]

Frank and all:

> 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.

I've never lived(although I've visited)the Northeast.  In Seattle, it's
"pop" for soft drinks, too.  But there are people who've moved here from
elsewhere, and some of *them* say "soda" when they mean what is to me,
"pop".  But you can always tell what they mean by the context.  There are
very few "fountain drinks" out here any more, unless you want to go some
place like Baskin Robbins.  So I don't have any tryouble deciphering the
meaning.
Anne Gilbert