Written by Calea Bakke
A bubbly release, soft drinks have become integrated into our culture and lives. But these pleasing beverages create heated conflict. Harding University, representing 48 states, is divided into three solid camps on this front. The question is: Do you call your carbonated beverage a pop, soda or coke?
This simple question reveals a lot about you. Most people pick up vernacular and slang from their parents and where they grew up. Word choice is an easy way to tell someone “ain’t from around here.”
Sophomore Logan Kays said she is identified as a Minnesotan as soon as she says “pop.” Though she never thought it was strange to say “pop” until she came to Arkansas, she now finds herself in the verbal minority.
This does not stop her from defending her dialect.
“I think they sound silly and kind of snooty—like the word soda,” said Kays. “Soda just sounds like you’re trying to be proper. That’s just ridiculous.”
Why do Harding students debate so passionately about what to call their soft drinks? Floridian Gabby Marcellini said it is due to attributing a part of your identity with how you speak. Debates arise because criticism often feels like a personal blow.
“It’s part of who we are,” she said. “Everyone wants to be right.”It is a discussion she said she has had with people from all over the country. Marcellini subscribes to the “coke” camp. Though she said it sometimes causes confusion when dealing with friends from other states, she had her own views on the topic.
“I think that pop is weird because it is a type of music and not a drink,” Marcellini said.
From North Carolina, student Amy Littleton advocated abbreviating the beginning of “soda pop” and sticking with “soda.” She also said she found it strange there were so many different names for the same thing.
“A lot of the time it just doesn’t make sense, especially when you call them coke because obviously not all of them are Coke,” said Littleton.
Debates about vernacular are not limited to soft drinks. Word choice between “y’all” and “you all” and the pronunciation of words like bag, roof and crayon also divide students. But, in this conflict, most conversations end peacefully.
“It’s a friendly debate,” said Littleton. “Most of the time.”
