Soft drink naming conventions
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Soft drinks are called by many names in different places of the world.
[edit] Arab World
In Arabic countries soft drinks are usually called either mashroob ghasi, meaning literally "gas drinks" (مشروبات غازية) for soda, or simply the word aseer or juice (عصير) for most other soft drinks that are served cool or cold. However, local dialects may differ.
[edit] Australia and New Zealand
"Soft drink" almost always refers to carbonated beverages. In some parts of Australia, the term "lolly water" was synonymous with "soft drink", but it now increasingly refers to bright-coloured alcoholic drinks which some claim are marketed at youth ("lolly water" is also rarely used in reference to wine variant). "Lemonade" is typically used only to refer to highly sweetened transparent carbonated beverages with a flavour similar to Coca-cola's Sprite, or PepsiCo's 7 Up. Lemon flavoured soft drinks are commonly referred to either as "lemon squash" or by brand name. In some parts of Australia and New Zealand, soft drink can be also referred to as "fizzy drinks" or "cool drinks". In Australia and New Zealand, a children's soft drink made from a bottled, usually fruit flavoured and brightly coloured sugar syrup concentrate and tap water is known as "cordial".
[edit] Brazil
In Brazil, a soft drink is called a "refrigerante", literally meaning "cooler"; can be colloquially abbreviated as refri. Although there is the term soda, it refers specifically to lemon-lime soft drinks. Not for Coke or Pepsi, for instance.
[edit] Bulgaria
The Bulgarian name for soft drinks is газирани напитки (gazirani napitki) or simply газирано (gazirano, "something fizzy"). A colloquial word сода (soda) exists, but it is used to denote soda water.
[edit] Canada
"Pop" is the most commonly used term among English-Canadian speakers to refer to a carbonated soft drink – although "soft drink" itself is widely used, particularly on signage and menus. "Soda" is used less. "Soda pop" is used by some. In French, a soft drink is referred to as "une boisson gazeuse", or informally as "une liqueur" (likely a shortened form from the seldom-used "liqueur douce"). The use of "liqueur" in this fashion is distinctly Quebec French; in France, "liqueur" refers to a very specific set of aperitif and digestif alcoholic drinks.
[edit] Chile
Soft drinks are called bebida in Chile, generically meaning "drink". Alcoholic drinks are known as trago or called by its specific name (beer, wine, etc.)
[edit] China
In China, soft drinks are often called "gas/air water" (Simplified Chinese: 汽水; pinyin: qì shuǐ) referring to carbonated drinks only. It is far more common to say the actual name of the drink (eg. Coke, bottled tea, etc.) than saying the generic term above.
[edit] Colombia
Soft drinks are called gaseosa (gassed drink) in Colombia, generically meaning "drink". Some usage of "refrescos" with similar meaning is reported. trago is used for alcoholic drinks.
[edit] Denmark
The Danish name for soft drinks is sodavand, which directly translated means soda water. The term sodavand is exclusively used for non-alcoholic, carbonated soft drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Fanta. Also used is the term læskedrik (from læskende=refreshing/thirst-quenching and drik=drink), which includes all non-alcoholic soft drinks.
[edit] Dominican Republic
The term for non-alcoholic carbonated soft drinks is refresco in the Dominican Republic, which conveys the refreshing properties associated with a cold frizzy drink. In most of the cases, refresco means a sweet soft drink. Other carbonated drinks, like Club Soda, are called soda amarga or refresco amargo (bitter soda or bitter soft drink, respectively).
[edit] Ecuador
In Ecuador, soft drinks are commonly referred as cola, due to the popularity of the Coca Cola brand.
[edit] Egypt
Soda drinks are usually referred to as kazouza (كازوزة), or haga sa'a which literally means "something cold".
[edit] Ethiopia
Soft drinks are generally known in Ethiopia by the Amharic word "leslassa", meaning literally "smooth". The popular brand names "Koka" (Coke) and "Mirinda" (Orange Soda) are also in common parlance.
[edit] Finland
Soft drinks are called virvoitusjuoma, i.e. "refreshing drink", in Finland. In everyday speech, the word limonadi or one of its colloquial derivations is used (limu, limsa, limukka, limska). Sooda or soodavesi, "soda water", refers to carbonated water.
[edit] Germany
Soft drinks are known as Limo short for Limonade, the German word for lemonade. Some regions also use Sprudel (from sprudeln=to be fizzy) or Brause (in eastern Germany) for carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. However, Fruchtschorle is one of the most popular soft drinks in Germany, but it is never called Limo since it contains no added sugar. Additionally, the word "Cola" is used to refer to any dark Coca-Cola-like beverage, regardless of brand.
[edit] Greece
In Greece, the term Gazoza is used to refer to clear lemon-lime soft drinks such as 7 Up or Sprite. This term, however, has become outdated.
[edit] India
Soft drinks go by a variety of names including "soft drinks", and most popular among the masses is the term "cold drinks" or "cool drinks", especially in the south of the country. "Soda" in India refers generally to carbonated water and not artificially flavoured, carbonated beverages. One of the most popular is Coca-Cola's Thums Up brand.
[edit] Ireland
Soft drinks are often referred to as "minerals" or "fizzy drinks". Lemonade in Ireland comes in two varieties: red and white. Red lemonade is lemon-flavoured, but has a markedly different taste from conventional lemonade. It is popular both as a drink for kids and as a mixer for spirits.
Also indigenous to Ireland are Cidona, an apple-flavoured soft drink produced by cider brewers, Bulmers, and Tanora, a tangerine-flavoured soft drink produced by Coca-Cola. The latter is mostly sold in Cork.
[edit] Italy
Any drink that could be used for human drinking are legally entitled in Italy "Bevanda" i.e. "beverage", (from ancient Latin verb "bibēre", i.e. "to drink") and this term is including all kinds of drinks starting from water up to juices, milkshakes, tea, liquors, etc. The soft drinks in Italy are generally referred in the common language as "bibita" (Bibit-a sing. and Bibit-e plur., again from verb "bibēre"). Technically speaking on the documents it has stated specifically by law that the "bibita" soft drink it is a "bevanda" drink, with refreshing purposes, it should contain absolutely no alcohol, and being made industrially. So "bevanda" includes all kind of drinks, and "bibita" all soft drinks but industrially made. A Bibita then could be referred in the detail if "gassata" (sparkling due to carbonate), or not "gassata" if obtained without adding carbonate. Market of soft drinks is very rich in Italy and carbonated drinks are usually the preferred by young people. All kind of lemonades and orange juices are merchandised by various logos, and Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Fanta, and Sprite are the most consumed drinks. although Italy has a very long history and tradition regarding drinks and liquors, so there could be found soft drinks which formula was created almost 100 years ago or more, from the humble "Gazzosa" or "gassosa" the popular Italian version of the soda water (there are dozens of logos merchandising it) up to Campari Soda, San Pellegrino Bitter, Campari Bitter, Acqua Tonica, Crodino, Cedrata (made of citrum), Gingerino, to end with maor local bigs "Chinotto" or "Tamarindo". The Tamarindo is a soft drink coming from the eastern Africa tree of Tamarind. Not only in Italy but also in Mexico and generally in all Latin America drinks of water flavoured with tamarind are appreciated and generally known as aguas frescas. While Chinotto it is a bitter variant of the common lemon. The Chinotto soft drink it is coloured with caramel as like as Cola, so at a first sight it could be confused with it, but the flavour it is completely different and original. Soft drinks made with Chinotto fruit were born around 1930 and are still so popular in Italy and also very common in Italian communities worldwide such as in Australia, or Germany that Coca Cola industry launched a Chinotto drink of its own called "Fantachinotto" and then extended it worldwide. In Malta it is known as Kinnie and Maltese Kinnie soft drink contributed to let the Chinotto being known and appreciated worldwide. Energy and sport drinks such as Gatorade, Enervit, Isostad or Red Bull are very appreciated. Energy drinks must be proven not to contain excessive amounts of substances like caffeine to avoid problems with persons with heart diseases.
[edit] Japan
Soft drinks in Japan are commonly referred to as "juice", and by younger generations as "drink", a shortened term for "PET-bottle drink". Non-carbonated drinks capture the majority of the soft drink market, and their main rivals are varieties of bottled tea. Canned and bottled coffee has an equally large market share, and the carbonated drink market is smaller, in contrast to other nations. Coca-Cola splits the carbonated market with Mitsuya Saidaa — a sweet, clear carbonated drink, and Pepsi lags behind these two, entering the market only in the 90s. Lime flavoured drinks (Mountain Dew and Sprite) hold almost no market share, or are marketed with only a touch of lime flavour. The official name for such drinks in documents and labels is Seiryo Inryo Sui (清涼飲料水) and those carbonated are called Tansan Inryo (炭酸飲料).
[edit] Mexico
Refresco is often used for carbonated drinks of most types, however more often in signs and menus. Bebidas, lit. "drinks" is also used in menus, but can refer to alcoholic drinks as well. In speech a more specific word is generally used, such as coca or té, however agua, lit. "water" can also be used to refer to any non alcoholic, usually cold, drink.
[edit] Netherlands
In the Dutch language, soft drinks are called frisdrank ('fresh drink') or abbreviated as fris, a word coined in 1956 by advertiser Dick Schiferli. Also prik, limonade or priklimonade is used, which only refers to a soft drink made with lemon juice.
[edit] Nigeria
In the south east, soft drinks are called "mineral".
[edit] Norway
Carbonated soft drinks in Norway are called brus, which means "fizz". It is a truncated form of the now obsolete bruslimonade ("fizzy lemonade").
[edit] Paraguay and Peru
Soft drinks are called gaseosas in Paraguay and Peru. The name coca is also common in Paraguay.
[edit] Philippines
The term "soft drinks" (also rendered softdrinks) is restricted to colas.
[edit] Poland
Soft drinks are called napoje gazowane (nearly same as in Bulgaria), where gazowane means sparkling or fizzy and napoje means drinks. Soft drinks also mean in Poland non-alcoholic drinks (napoje bezalkoholowe) like water, juice and coffee.
[edit] Portugal
In Portugal, soft drinks are called refrigerante, which can be freely translated into "cooler".
[edit] Romania
Soft drinks are usually called băuturi răcoritoare, răcoritoare ('cooling drinks/coolers'), or just suc ('juice'), but are also referred to as cico (after an old brand of local soft drink) or cola. Some claim that this name was made after the popular 'Coca-Cola', but in Romania, before 'Coca-Cola', there was 'Pepsi-Cola' and 'Quick-Cola'.
[edit] Singapore
Soft drinks generally refers to carbonated drinks in Singapore, although more they are commonly referred to by the actual product's name. Other names commonly used include 'gassy drink' and 'sweet drinks'.
[edit] South Africa
Soft drinks in South Africa are called cool drinks generically, although lemonade follows the same conventions as Australia.
[edit] Spain
In Spain soft drinks are called refrescos, which can be translated like "refreshing". It refers to non-alcoholic drinks, and commonly carbonated.
[edit] Sweden
Soft drinks are called läsk which comes from läskande drycker ("refreshing" or "thirst-quenching drinks") and denotes carbonated non-alcoholic soft drinks. In northern Sweden, the word dricka (drink) is often used. The word lemonad has more or less the same use as the English word lemonade, but belongs to a slightly higher level of style than läsk. In Finland Swedish, lemonad is more common and refers to all kinds of carbonated soft drinks, läsk (or läskedryck) is also used. Many people, both Finnish and Swedish speakers, also use the word limsa (limonadi). In Swedish Donald Duck Comics there is a word called Läskeblask which means "thirst-quenching fizz".
[edit] United Kingdom
The term "soft drink", in the United Kingdom, originally applied to carbonated drinks ("pop") and non-carbonated drinks made from concentrates ("squash"), although it now commonly refers to any drink that does not contain alcohol. To further confuse matters, alcopops are often called "alcoholic soft drinks".
The term "pop", once popular as a generic term for soft drinks is now mainly restricted to the north of England, and Wales. The term "fizzy drinks" is also used as a synonym for sweetened carbonated drinks. In the West of Scotland, soft drinks are commonly known as "ginger". Carbonated drinks are also known as "juice" in many locations, including most of the east of Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, "brown lemonade" also exists in addition to normal, "white" lemonade.
[edit] United States
- Much of the reference material for this section is drawn from The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy internet survey, and linguistics professor Bert Vaux's formal study on American dialects.
"Soft drink" commonly refers to cold, carbonated, non-alcoholic beverages in the United States. Carbonated beverages are regionally known as:
- "Coke", in most of the South, including New Mexico and much of eastern and southern Oklahoma. Some older generations of Southerners refer to soft drinks as "dope".
- "Pop" in most of the Midwest and into the western part of the Northeast, including such cities as Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Erie, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, NY; and as far south as the northern half of Oklahoma. The majority of the state of Michigan (including the Upper Peninsula), especially the Metro Detroit area specifically call soft drinks "Pop" (Faygo, a brand of soft drink made in Detroit is an example of this). In the lower Midwest, such as southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and the Cincinnati, Ohio area, "soft drink" predominates (which is why the term is used in Kroger stores, which is Cincinnati-based).
- "Soda" in the Northeast, the Southwest (California, Nevada, Arizona), Hawaii, Florida (almost equally mixed with the phrase "coke"]), and small parts of the Midwest (around St. Louis; and Southeast Wisconsin).
- "Tonic" is used all over eastern New England although the usage is being replaced with "soda"; cola drinks are generally referred to as "Coke" (or sometimes "Pepsi") unless another brand is specified.
- "Soda pop" is used by some speakers, especially in the mountain west.
- "Seltzer" in Teamo and throughout the Vitebsk Seaway and Lorraine, though Soda Pop is used in the rest of Lincoln. See Lansbury's 3/5ths Seltzer.
- "Drink", "cold drink", and "soda" are locally common in southern Virginia and the Carolinas, spreading from there as far as Louisiana.
- "Cold drink" is the phrase of choice in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- In Oregon, "Pop," or "Soda Pop," refers to either cola brand and their respective flavors (Coke v Pepsi) based on the local preference. Many institutions in Oregon enter into contracts in with one or the other major corporations is provided to the exclusion of others.
- At many restaurants in the U.S., one finds that the products of only a single major beverage producer, such as The Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo, are available. While patrons requesting a "coke" may be truly indifferent as to which cola brand they receive, the careful server will confirm intent with a question like "Is Pepsi ok?" Similarly, 7 Up or Sprite may indicate whichever clear, carbonated, citrus-flavoured drink happens to be at hand. The generic uses of these brand names does not affect the local usage of the words "pop" or "soda", to mean any carbonated beverage.
An interesting correlation to note in the United States is that states where "soda" is predominant tend toward democratic candidates in presidential elections, whereas states where "pop" or "coke" is said more often give their electoral votes to republicans, though exceptions occurred in 2004 in Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, and Missouri.
[edit] Venezuela
The name used in Venezuela, not typical to other Latin American countries, is simply "Refresco". In some parts of Venezuela it is shortened to "Fresco". Brand names are respectively named by their brand.
See also: List of soft drinks by country
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