Often, I find that the word I grew up using isn’t the word that they use here in Yucatan. For example, enchufe is replaced by the word contacto, that’s an electrical outlet or socket in English. I’ve grown accustomed to getting blank looks when I speak Spanish, but I wasn’t prepared when the same thing happened to me in English!
At a recent meeting of the Merida Writer’s Group,I read the first draft of the sugar chapter in my book. I used the word soda, mainly because I didn’t want to signal out Coke or Pepsi but wanted a generic term. LG explained that in the part of Canada she is from, soda means bicarbonate of soda or maybe carbonated water, like in the phrase, “I’ll have scotch and soda, please.”
My curiosity is piqued, I’ve been pestering all my friends, asking them the generic term for soft drinks in their home region. Now it’s your turn,II need your help.What do you call a refresco in English? Also what comes to mind when you hear the words, soda, soft drink, or carbonated beverage? They say the devil is in the details, and this detail is certainly bedeviling me!
In southern Oregon when I was growing up, we used "pop" as a generic term. Sometimes, "soda." Of course, we said "crick," and used "over yonder" -- a lot.
ReplyDeleteSoda is a Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, etc. Baking soda is the term that we use for bicarbonate of soda. Born and raised in California. My relatives in the midwest said "pop." I have never heard of anyone becoming confused by the word soda in context. Sounds a bit odd to me.
ReplyDeleteWe called it Pop here in Ohio and if you wanted to fancy up a bit, it was soda pop.
ReplyDeleteMany Canadians say "pop" shortened from soda pop, which is now old fashioned. Lots of info on the internet.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn in Ontario
In Texas. we use the word "coke" for all brands of soft drinks.
ReplyDeleteCarol
Steve,
ReplyDeleteAnd exactly what is wrong with crick? Growing up, I had friends who also said,"wursh".
La Cubanófila,
She understood what I meant. It was just a point of information. I have been gathering regional names for soda because I find stuff like that interesting. So far I have five.
Norm, Thank you.When in doubt, I like to go for fancy every time!
Marilyn,
Thank you. I know I can find out lots of stuff online, but I like interacting with my readers. Thank you for commenting.
Carol,
I had heard that. thank you for confirming it. Doesn't it get confusing?
Hola Theresa!
ReplyDeleteI use the word "soda" to refer to any kind of soft drink. I also remember using the word "pop" when I was little.
I don't know how technical your chapter is, but you might consider first using "carbonated soft drink referred to here as soda". (However this fits in text.)
ReplyDeleteLeslie,
ReplyDeleteMe too! Because we lived in the eastern United States when I was little, I heard pop then in California it became soda.
Marianne,
Thank you, it's interesting how many variations there are.
I have the following sentence in mind: "No matter what you call them--soda,pop,tonic,selzer,refrecos,or coke;carbonated soft drinks are..."
I am collecting data, until I started asking peoople, I thought the choices were just soda or pop.
regards,
Theresa
Ha ha. I just call them "soft drinks" but most folks in Alabama just say "A Coke" even if they want Pepsi or Sprite. The common reply to "I'll have a coke" is "What kind do you you want?" silly huh?
ReplyDeleteI did not know the word for outlet. I do find that sometimes the word I look up is totally foreign to Mexican Spanish speakers. I shouldn't be surprised that language in Mexico is very regional, but I sometimes am.
Gene,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about that! Yeah, I get some blank looks when I speak Spanish sometimes. Once when I asked for fósferos (wooden matches), the clerk told me,"My grandmother uses that word, now we say cerillo." However, they do use fósferos for wooden kitchen matches, and cerillos means those little wax matches. So you can't always go by the first person you talk to.
Then there are words like kimbombó (okra) which are pretty specific to Cuba,in Spain it's quingombó but here it's an entirely different word, which escapes me right now, I want to say aju, that doesn't look right.
I was thinking of you the other day. Someone at the IWC asked me about quilting in Merida. It seems like there would definitely be an interest in a quilting group here.Quilting for me is like tatting, I admire the people who do it, but I know that I am not suited to it.
regards,
Theresa
Just to confuse you more, here in Australia we call pop "lemonade". And the stuff you call lemonade... well we call that "cordial"! As for soda, that's carbonated water. For cooking we distinguish between 2 sodas by calling them "baking soda" or "bicarb soda". Phew!
ReplyDeleteHere were we live in Canada it is called pop!
ReplyDeleteStickyRice,
ReplyDeleteI love it! a cordial to me is a liquor like limoncello or Amaretto. It's a wonder any of us can communicate at all. Thanks for adding to my list!
Contessa,
thank you. This is a fun survey.
regards,
Theresa
I grew up in Pennsylvania where it's called soda. Now where I live in Indiana it's pop.
ReplyDeleteAnother word I grew up using was pocketbook. My daughter still uses that in PA but out here it's purse. Nobody says pocketbook.
Anyone know what "macadam" is? It was blacktop where I grew up but nobody ever heard of it here. I could go on and on...hassock, davenport, etc. I get a lot of funny looks out here in the Midwest.
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteOne of the fun parts of living in an expat community is the diversity of everyone's English. I hear pocketbook all the time here.
I say hassock, one of my friend's mom used to say Chesterfield and another one said Davenport for couch.I grew up saying sofa. probably because it's the same word
in Spanish.
This is a fun "survey" thanks for contributing.
regards,
Theresa
I know the word macadam only from my reading. I even now that a guy named John McAdam invented the process.
If the soda is lemon lime I call it a lemon-lime. Otherwise a Cola or a Root Beer. If I am referring to all three -- it's soda's or soda-pop or "kids drinks". As in the Sodas are in the cooler.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christine,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you taking the time to comment.
regards,
Theresa