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.

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.

Few American linguistic debates have bubbled quite as long and effervescently as the one over whether a generic soft drink should be called a soda, pop or coke.