the linguists are lying about the Coke thing. As someone who has lived in a solid Coke zone according to this map but use soda as the generic term, I have never noticed it or had a misunderstanding based on Coke used in a generic way.
I think what’s true is that there is not a consensus on the term for soda (you’ll see soda, fountain drink, soft drink, canned drink, etc) and that Coke and it’s variants (diet, cherry etc) have a large market share, so people end up using the specific name instead of a generic term.
I checked a non chain restaurant in small town Minnesota, and saw pop on the menu. Same for soda in NJ. I looked at a couple dozen restaurants in MS, GA, TN, and AL and couldn’t find one using Coke to refer to anything other than Coca Cola.
When I lived in the Coke region in the 90s to early 00's, it wasn't ever used this way on the menu, only verbally. I still catch myself doing it occasionally.
"Can I get a coke?"
"Sure, what kind?"
"A Pepsi."
To be more accurate, not many drank Pepsi, it was mostly Coke or Dr Pepper.
the linguists are lying about the Coke thing. As someone who has lived in a solid Coke zone according to this map but use soda as the generic term, I have never noticed it or had a misunderstanding based on Coke used in a generic way.
I think what’s true is that there is not a consensus on the term for soda (you’ll see soda, fountain drink, soft drink, canned drink, etc) and that Coke and it’s variants (diet, cherry etc) have a large market share, so people end up using the specific name instead of a generic term.
I checked a non chain restaurant in small town Minnesota, and saw pop on the menu. Same for soda in NJ. I looked at a couple dozen restaurants in MS, GA, TN, and AL and couldn’t find one using Coke to refer to anything other than Coca Cola.
When I lived in the Coke region in the 90s to early 00's, it wasn't ever used this way on the menu, only verbally. I still catch myself doing it occasionally.
"Can I get a coke?"
"Sure, what kind?"
"A Pepsi."
To be more accurate, not many drank Pepsi, it was mostly Coke or Dr Pepper.