Why do Texans refer to all soda as "Coke"? (Houston: work, house)

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Right on Laura, if this were the case, we'd all be in a world of doodo


LOL, I still catch myself saying icebox at given times. There are other items that have carry over names that I sometimes use also.

Then of course there are some things that we refer to that have always been called and are still called by a certain name that some people don't seem to know what we're talking about. For example, when someone says they're going to go down to the tank and fish, it doesn't mean some galvanzied metal tank, it is the stock tank. Uh oh, maybe I should clarify that further. It is a dug out hole in the ground designed to hold water for livestock (cows, horses) and other animals (such as dogs, coyotes, deer, pigs, etc.) to drink from. Get it stocked right and it makes a fine fishing hole too. In some areas of the country they are called ponds. Just another regional thing.

I've always said, "coke" and then proceeded to specify what "flavors". I don't see the big deal about it. In restaurants we do specify what "flavor" but I'd bet a LOT do that. Do people in other regions order a "soda" or "pop" and THEN say which flavor they want? I highly doubt it.

I know what a tank is We had one in East Texas. Our dog LOVED swimming in it.


There is one product that most say the same word for and it is typically the brand name. While in some cases the other items like this may be pretty close to comparable in the one I'm referring to they are NOT!!! Just ask any female who has had to "borrow" something in an emergency from a friend that might use a different brand. They are NOT all created equal, they are NOT all made just alike and WE CAN TELL!

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I've always said, "coke" and then proceeded to specify what "flavors". I don't see the big deal about it. In restaurants we do specify what "flavor" but I'd bet a LOT do that. Do people in other regions order a "soda" or "pop" and THEN say which flavor they want? I highly doubt it.

Actually, I started ordering "diet soda" years ago because I got sick of the question "Is Pepsi OK?" if they only carried Pepsi and not coke. Diet soda covers both and nobody ever had more than one kind of diet soda. If I were ordering any other flavor, then yes I'd ask for a Dr. Pepper or 7-up, not a soda.

[Sonrise]

Originally Posted by momof2dfw

I've always said, "coke" and then proceeded to specify what "flavors". I don't see the big deal about it. In restaurants we do specify what "flavor" but I'd bet a LOT do that. Do people in other regions order a "soda" or "pop" and THEN say which flavor they want? I highly doubt it.

I know what a tank is We had one in East Texas. Our dog LOVED swimming in it.


There is one product that most say the same word for and it is typically the brand name. While in some cases the other items like this may be pretty close to comparable in the one I'm referring to they are NOT!!! Just ask any female who has had to "borrow" something in an emergency from a friend that might use a different brand. They are NOT all created equal, they are NOT all made just alike and WE CAN TELL!

Mom,
I promise, this is my last comment and then I'll shut up. You made my point for me. Sprite isn't a "flavor" of coke, it's a completely different product. Dr. pepper isn't a "flavor" of coke, it's a completely different product. You're right, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal, but it's just plain ignorant and I've got issues and it bugs the heck out of me. That was my whole point. I've lived in NY, NJ, Cal, Canada, Alaska, Fl, and SC and when at a restaurant I've only ever heard people order the specific drink that they wanted, i.e, "I'll have a coke please" or "may, I have an iced tea?". Until I experienced Texas, I'd never heard anyone say, "I'd like a Coke, Mt. Dew please". I'm very logical and to me this is soooo illogical, I don't get it.

Any way, I really do like Texas. The people are awesome, my sis lives in Round Rock, etc. I promise, I'm done. I've made my point and everyone has told me, very kindly to "shut up', so I will.

[Trainwreck20]

I can't believe the thread has this much interest. Actual, all words are a series of sounds stuck together to convey information. If the info gets conveyed, all is good .

[el borracho]

i lived in denver and waited tables and people would always order pop and i would always bring them diet at least in texas they order a coke and thats what they get

[JamesAbilene]

I grew up in the Panhandle, and we always called a refrigerator an ice box. I still do sometimes. I never heard the word "tank" for a stock pond until I lived in Abilene. People would talk about tanks, and I would find myself looking for an oil storage tank, which is what a tank was in the Panhandle. Language is interesting and fun. I took a linguistics course in college, and it was quite interesting to look at language maps. There are so many words that vary from region to region like:

Is it a faucet or a hydrant?

Is it a pancake or a flapjack?

Is it dinner or supper?

Is it a grocery sack or grocery bag?

etc.

There is no reason to get upset about these regional usages. Enjoy them. Everytime I have lived in a different part of the country, I enjoyed learning the different words that people use for the same things. TV is probably homogenizing most of us now, but I am proud that we Texans still talk Texan.

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

Mom,
I promise, this is my last comment and then I'll shut up. You made my point for me. Sprite isn't a "flavor" of coke, it's a completely different product. Dr. pepper isn't a "flavor" of coke, it's a completely different product.

Coke and Dr Pepper originated in the late 1800s. Pepsi in the early 1900s. 7-Up came 30 years later. Sprite didn't show up until 1961.

The *history* of the word Coke goes back over 100 years. There wasn't a lemon-lime alternative at that time. Dr Pepper was mainly Waco for 2 decades and wasn't widespread even in my childhood.

What you seem to be missing is that people didn't pick one flavor out of a dozen and arbitrarily refer to every carbonated drink that way. There was one choice, Coca Cola. By the time viable alternatives showed up (Pepsi struggled for quite a few years), its usage was well established. Because language is slow to change and there's no reason for its extinction, it hangs around now that there are lemon limes, and oranges, and grapes.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

Coke and Dr Pepper originated in the late 1800s. Pepsi in the early 1900s. 7-Up came 30 years later. Sprite didn't show up until 1961.

The *history* of the word Coke goes back over 100 years. There wasn't a lemon-lime alternative at that time. Dr Pepper was mainly Waco for 2 decades and wasn't widespread even in my childhood.

What you seem to be missing is that people didn't pick one flavor out of a dozen and arbitrarily refer to every carbonated drink that way. There was one choice, Coca Cola. By the time viable alternatives showed up (Pepsi struggled for quite a few years), its usage was well established. Because language is slow to change and there's no reason for its extinction, it hangs around now that there are lemon limes, and oranges, and grapes.

Your forgetting one, RC Cola. So if one orders "cola" can they get an RC? Being a Southern Girl I also had plenty of RC Cola's and a MoonPie.

[JVTX72]

Originally Posted by catman

I don't understand what everyone is getting so hot under the colar about. I notice that on the map, in Tarrant, Denton and Dallas Counties, >80% call a soft drink generically a "coke". I can vouch for that. I didn't expect it to be that way everywhere else. What's the big deal?

Someone wanting everyone else to be like them......Thank god we aren't!! Wouldn't life be boring?

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by ITChick

That's interesting. I noticed that too when I spent time in Houston last year.
I made the mistake of asking one of the clerks at a grocery store there where the "Pop" aisle was, and although she looked at me funny (I'm a midwesterner and that's what we call it), she said to me, "I know what you're talking about, because I'm from Michigan, so follow me!".

Understandable. I live in Georgia and alot of people call it "coke" down here. I use the term "pop" to describe carbonated soft drinks. Luckily, there are alot of out of staters in Atlanta so many of them know what I'm talking about.