quote:
Originally posted by geoschmo:
Yes, let's resurect the great "Soda vs Pop vs Cola" debate.
I, living in Ohio call it pop as well. I have friends from various parts of the country who call it one or the other. After much research I have placed the dividing line, running roughly in a north-south direction, somewhere slightly west of Indianapolis Indiana.
Anybody care to chime in so we can narrow it down more specifically.
Geo
Actually, the 'dividing line' is a north-south more than an east-west line. The Great Lakes area has a distinct culture/language identity. So, people in Chicago would also call it 'pop' and people in Iowa would too. (Chicago seems to be the 'capital' of the Great Lakes culture, btw.) But people in Southern Illinois and Missouri would tend to say 'soda'. The line does move north somewhat as it goes west so you might get the impression that it 'ends' west of Indiana. There is a similar difference over things like 'grocery bag' vs. 'grocery sack' and 'foil' vs. 'silver paper' (yeah, weird one, huh?) and several other regionalisms. Anyway, the Great Lakes/Midwest cultural region is roughly the northern tier of states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the western end of Pennsylvania, and the northern half of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Roughly the northern 'half' that is. It's not like you can cross a marked border anywhere.
But people from northern Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois can tell the difference with people from the southern half of these states. I think people from Southern Ohio have a noticable "Southern accent" myself.
[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 27 July 2001).]