] Since the earliest research into the the English Language ] as spoken in North America was begun by Noah Webster in ] the early 18th century, the regional variations in ] dialect have always been the most challenging and ] difficult to explain field. Since the development of ] carbonated beverage in 1886, one of linguistic ] geography's most important and least investigated ] phenomena has been the sharp regional divisions in the ] use of the terms "pop" and "soda." Due to the domination ] of hard-line conservative lingusitic geographers in such ] leading institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford and ] the University of the West Indies, this dilemma has been ] swept under the rug . . . until now. Using the new ] technologies of the Internet and the World Wide Web, I ] and my colleagues at the California Institute of ] Technology and Lewis & Clark College are undertaking a ] bold new research into this fascinating area. Great maps to go along with this. The Pop vs. Soda Page |