Re: CHAT: Soda vs. Pop, was Re: Dialect and register

Quoting Morgan Palaeo Associates <morganpalaeo@...>:

> I notice that "soft drink" is the most common of the "other"
> responses (23% of 'other', 1% of total, most common in California),
> which as I've said is the usual term in Australia. However, I'm sure
> that I've heard Americans use "soft drink" to mean any non-alcoholic
> drink, including fruit juice, so presumably that usage is more common.
That is not the meaning I would associate with "soft drink".
For me, "soft drinks" are always carbonated, whether or not
they may have been spiked with alcohol (though clearly they
do not prototypically come with alcohol).  Also, "soft drink"
seems not to incite as much vitriol and bigotry as the other
options, which is why I use it as a neutral/higher register
term.

Nik Taylor slabronten:
> Check out
> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/popstatsTOTAL.html <--
> what people put for "other".  Amazing that some people react so strongly
> to such a small thing!
My favorite reaction is the one that asserts divine
endorsement of "coke", not "soda" or "pop".

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Thomas Wier            "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
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