when i used to live in Michigan for about three years. I called it "pop". now that im back in the south, i/everyone around me calls it coke. its like, 'you got any coke?" "yea sure, what do you want? dr. pepper or sprite." weird i know. and it annoys me that i catch myself doing it.
Everyone calls it pop here in the Midwest. Don't know about 'Americans and their soda.' But that being said, I prefer the word soda... But then again I use the word coke to describe clear sodas, mountain dew, dr. pepper, pepsi... can all be called coke. But who knows, I just go with whatever the people I'm around understand.
Wtf is up with alaska? It calls its beverages everything. I'm a cali kid, so Soda is natural, but I moved to washington... 'pop' pops out once in a while, and it feels so dirty... soda all the way.