What Term Do You Use for Carbonated Beverages?

[Emma]

Carbonated beverages are a very popular drink around the world, but many of us use different names for what we call them when we're not using a specific brand name. Which term is used tends to be based on where you grew up, and has nothing to do with social factors like race or wealth. But it can be influenced by media. For example, the term "soda" turns up outside of its main geographic areas because of the heavy influence that California, a state where the overwhelmingly predominant term is "soda," has a huge amount of influence on the world's media. If you go somewhere that uses a different term, and you use your native term, you'll be instantly recognized as an outsider. If you ask for one, say a a restaurant where you fill the cup yourself, and you use the wrong term, the server may be confused if they're not used to tourists. Especially if you use the regional term common in the southern US, "coke." The Coco-cola Company puts a lot of pressure on restaurants for them to ask customers to specify exactly what they want when they use the term "coke" when they don't actually serve the Coke brand.

So, what term do you use do you use for carbonated beverages when speaking in general (not asking for a specific brand)?

 

[Jimmu]

Here is Australia the term that is usually used for these is Soft Drinks, I don't really hear people say Soda at all in person.

 

[Mamono101]

Generally I just call them soft drinks. I rarely hear anything else.

 

[Fraxinus]

I say either "soda" or "pop." More frequently "soda" as of late, though most people where I live usually say "pop." But I never say "soda pop." It's one or the other, never both. "Soda" just sounds a little more formal than "pop" does, in my opinion.

 

[Sheik]

Mostly what I hear is soft drink, and it always seemed to me like an appropriate name for beverages like Pepsi and Sprite, so it's what I commonly refer to them as.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Usually I'll just call it by the brand, but if I'm speaking generally, I'll say "Fizzy Drinks".

 

[Mercedes]

I'm a little confused going off other people's replies to the thread since what I'd call a soft drink is the very opposite of the drinks mentioned in thread. Soft drinks would be apple juice or flavoured water, anything that doesn't have any fizz. Carbonated Beverages would be, I assume, fizzy drinks like Coke and Pepsi? If so then I'd say fizzy drinks, like I just did! Nobody would order "a fizzy drink" though, like how Americans would order "a soda", people generally say the brand of the actual drink they want. People also say pop around here but that generally refers to fizzy drinks oriented towards children.

 

[Emma]

I'm a little confused going off other people's replies to the thread since what I'd call a soft drink is the very opposite of the drinks mentioned in thread. Soft drinks would be apple juice or flavoured water, anything that doesn't have any fizz. Carbonated Beverages would be, I assume, fizzy drinks like Coke and Pepsi? If so then I'd say fizzy drinks, like I just did! Nobody would order "a fizzy drink" though, like how Americans would order "a soda", people generally say the brand of the actual drink they want. People also say pop around here but that generally refers to fizzy drinks oriented towards children.

Yes, I know, that's why I considered a slang term when used to refer to carbonated beverages because the actual term "soft drink" applies to ANY drink whatsoever that doesn't have alcohol under its technical definition (hard drinks being the term for those that do have alcohol). Excluding carbonated ones makes it a slang usage as well. Just like how coke is a slang term when used this way despite it being part of the name of a specific brand.

 

[Azure Sage]

In my area, we call it "soda". I've never called it anything else. When ordering from a restaurant or something, I'd use the brand name of the soda I want to drink, assuming I want a soda (I've been trying to cut back on soda lately). Some of those names on the poll I'd never even heard of before, like "Lolly water". And I'd never heard "seltzer" used in reference to soda before. When I hear "seltzer", I think of "alka-seltzer", which is medicine.

It's pretty neat how soda is called different things all across the world; even all across the U.S. it has different names depending on the region you live in.

 

[Beauts]

I usually call it by the brand name I'm asking for/referring to, or generally fizzy drink or soft drink. You don't really hear of 'soda' or 'pop' much in southern England (don't know about the North, jc and Mercedes would need to confirm). Sometimes older people call it 'pop' but soda is not a thing.

I'm a little confused going off other people's replies to the thread since what I'd call a soft drink is the very opposite of the drinks mentioned in thread. Soft drinks would be apple juice or flavoured water, anything that doesn't have any fizz.

I would use soft drink for fizzy drinks if the alternative was alcoholic, otherwise I too would say fizzy drinks or the brand name.

 

[Princess Niki]

I say both soda and soft drink, but I say soda more.

 

[Emma]

So not everyone replies "I use the brand name when asking for one," since that is a given, I edited the question. Yeah, of course we ask for exactly what kind we want by its name, this was about what term is used when speaking in general. I also wanted to point out that age can be a factor in what term is used because which terms are more popular in a given are change over time, but not everyone will change which they use over their life, so older people might choose to keep a term that is no longer common in the area they grew up in.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

In my area, we call it "soda". I've never called it anything else. When ordering from a restaurant or something, I'd use the brand name of the soda I want to drink, assuming I want a soda (I've been trying to cut back on soda lately). Some of those names on the poll I'd never even heard of before, like "Lolly water". And I'd never heard "seltzer" used in reference to soda before. When I hear "seltzer", I think of "alka-seltzer", which is medicine.

It's pretty neat how soda is called different things all across the world; even all across the U.S. it has different names depending on the region you live in.

Seltzer water is used to make other drinks like old fashioned chocolate sodas and alcoholic beverages.
never heard of some of those terms. I just say soda or the name of the drink.

 

[Djinn]

Growing up in the south I'm used to all soft drinks being called coke. No matter what is it, coke, Pepsi, orange, or Sprite, it's all called coke. No exceptions.

And everyone here has the uncanny ability to look at a waitress, say they want a coke, and the waitress will know immediately they want a diet sprite. Then get them a diet sprite.

 

[Shroom]

I'm in the same boat as Lemmy. Normally it's called pop, but more recently I sometimes say soda. Pop is way more common though.