Pop, Soda, Cola, or Coke

BTxc wrote:

Im too lazy to read everyone elses post... but that map does not adequetly show which term is used the most.. the california/ny areas are much more densly populated... and wyoming has like 8 people in it... just because there is more blue on the map doesnt mean it is used more

I don't see the relevance of your question. The purpose of a dialect study is to observe the regional differences in usage/pronunciation. Usage/pronunciation popularity is only relevant in the context to its geographical usage. Population density is irrelevant.

Regardless, should you be interested in the overall distribution of the survey participants, click on the link titled "participant data"

Jonathan Richman wrote:Regardless, should you be interested in the overall distribution of the survey participants, click on the link titled "participant data"

Was this study initiated from the east? There's an obvious eastern bias in the participation data. California and New York had roughly the same number of participants (mid to high 8%), but the population of CA is more than twice that of NY, isn't it?

I say pop, as does everybody else in north central Ohio. I do get a lot of exposure to other terms at school with people being from all over the country though.

Pete wrote:Was this study initiated from the east? There's an obvious eastern bias in the participation data. California and New York had roughly the same number of participants (mid to high 8%), but the population of CA is more than twice that of NY, isn't it?

Why is that relevant, Pete? Dialect studies focus on the regional differences of English usage, not which usage is most popular overall. What you should be getting out of the data and maps is the "where", not "how many". If you look at those maps it's clear that certain regions prefer certain pronunciations of words.

If you are interested on overall popularity of usage then norm the data by state.

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0004986.html

Jonathan Richman wrote:Why is that relevant, Pete?

I didn't say it was relevant to the findings. It was just something that immediately jumped out at me from looking at the data, and I was wondering if it was initiated from the east, that's all.

Sometimes data tell you more than what the experimenters were looking for.

So was it?

Pete, on the home page of that study the authors are cited. One is from Harvard (now at Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and the other from MIT.

Jonathan Richman wrote:Pete, on the home page of that study the authors are cited. One is from Harvard (now at Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and the other from MIT.

Ahhhh... OK, cool. Guess I was right then. I'm patting myself on the back as soon as I finish typing. :-)

prune juice + pepsi.

Back in Wisconsin we called them Jack 'n' Cokes.

I live in Chicago and went to school in Madison and Minneapolis. I can't say I have ever heard the "anymore" usage in the "midwestern" way you indicate.

I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I've lived in Chicago all my life and have never heard that usage.