How did a ‘health drink’ from the early 1800s spawn so many names and variations? An expert in American dialects explains.

The word you use generally boils down to where you’re from: Midwesterners enjoy a good pop, while soda is tops in the North ...

It all stems from a mix of economic enterprise and linguistic ingenuity. The popularity of “soda” in the Northeast likely reflects the soda fountain’s longer history in the region.