I suppose I can still be nice to the general category Coke belongs to.

In the Philippines, we call them soft drinks. There may be a few other terms depending on the dialect but generally we settle on the term soft drinks.

But is it that easy in the USA? Of course not!! One would think you might have some different terminology based on where you live and that would be true. However, that is ignoring a detail of life in USA.

Because of the pressures of income generation, people do not stay in the region where they grew up. Quite simply, they move around. Depending on the industry you work in, you may be moving around a lot such as those who specialize in heavy construction. You go where the project is.

So what does that have to do with Coke? Well, some call soft drinks by different names. Some call it soda, pop, soda pop, Coke (for all products), 7UP for all lemon lime soft drinks despite the actual brand name, cola, or soft drinks.

You can often find them labeled soft drinks because they are the opposite of hard drinks or those with alcohol in them. I have heard my hubby call them carbonated beverages but that doesn’t really work as champagne is carbonated but is also alcoholic.

All of this can lead to quite the bit of fun when a person new to the area is trying to figure out what to drink at a restaurant or just a general bit of debate on which is the right term to use.

For me, I will settle for drinking my herbal tea.

Thank you,

Anah

photo credits: healthinmotion.wordpress.com