The Colbert Report: "soda water"

[Charles Doyle]

For me, growing up in eastern Texas (like Wilson), "soda water" was the most prevalent generic term for carbonated soft drinks (of all flavors).  I have been assuming, however, that the term is a somewhat narrowly-focused regionalism, not an archaism.

During the past 35 years, I've lived in Georgia, which is (not surprisingly) generic "cocola" country.

As for "RC CocaCola":  Isn't that just a joke-expression, acknowledging or satirizing the very multiplicity of terminology that we've been discussing?

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 09:32:29 -0400
>From: David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET>
>Subject: Re: The Colbert Report: "soda water"
>
>From:    Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
>
>> I almost never hear "Coke", in the south (NC, GA, TN).  It is always "co-cola"
>
>I don't have all that much experience with the Middle South, but the only time i (from the Upper South) ever heard "co-cola" was as part of a longer name: "RC Co cola" [ar si ko kol*] (i capitalize the "Co" because i *think* it was pronouncing the abbreviation for "company" as if it were a word), sometimes pronounced by much older people as [ar o si ko kol*], for some reason.
>
>Coca-Cola was simply "coke", and when it needed to be distinguished from generic coke it was "coke coke", which i suppose is more or less indistinguishable from the possibility of "co-coke".
>
>Sidebar: Annoyingly, the only way to find RC in the Orlando market seems to be 2-liter bottles. I can't drink that much before it goes flat--but what else am i suppose to eat my Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies with?
>
>--
>David Bowie

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