Quick links
soft drink
DCHP-2 (Oct 2012)
Spelling variants:soft-drink (rare)
n. — Quebec, Food & Drink
any carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverage (e.g. Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, ginger ale).
Type: 5. Frequency — In Montreal and the rest of Quebec, soft drink is the main term used for 'carbonated beverages', especially amongst Quebecers who were born and raised in the province (see Chambers and Heisler 1999:40-43 for a case study from the City of Quebec). Montreal is one of the most lexically distinct regions in mainland Canada, due to the isolation of its English-speaking community from the rest of English-speaking Canada (Boberg 2005:36). In other provinces the term pop is more common in reference to carbonated beverages, although soft drink does have some currency in Manitoba, eastern Ontario and Newfoundland (see Boberg 2010: 172-173).
One French term used in Quebec for a 'carbonated beverage' is liqueur douce, which is a direct translation of the term soft drink. It is likely that liqueur douce and soft drink reinforced one another.
The term is included in COD-2, ITP Nelson, Gage-5 and DAE and AHD-5, but marked in none as a Quebec term.
One French term used in Quebec for a 'carbonated beverage' is liqueur douce, which is a direct translation of the term soft drink. It is likely that liqueur douce and soft drink reinforced one another.
The term is included in COD-2, ITP Nelson, Gage-5 and DAE and AHD-5, but marked in none as a Quebec term.
See: pop
Quotations
1886
Outside, in the grounds, the vendors of popcorn and other childish delicacies drove a roaring trade; and prodigious was the quantity of soft drink consumed.
1911
At the "ice-cream cone" and soft drink stalls, there was the same freedom of restraint in changing money for cooling commodities.
1936
Last Saturday the board gave him one week's notice to stop the manufacture and bottling of the soft drink. The board contended a dairy was not the place to bottle drinks of any kind.
1946
Canadians have taken to the pop bottle in a big way. By the end of the year it is estimated that they will have consumed sufficient soft drinks to float an ocean liner almost four times the size of the Queen Mary.
1975
Soft drinks could be had at five cents a bottle, or if you had the inclination for a slight glow, a bottle of firewater would do the trick.
1977
Their parents drive them to the arena, and buy them soft drinks, and give them a few bucks for spending money.
1998
The best hands at the end of the road will win prizes and there will be soft drinks and burgers for all participants.
2003
And it's only in Quebec that soft drinks quench thirst. Pop has become the standard word across Canada but Boberg believes our soft drinks are a direct translation of liqueur douce.
2008
Enjoy making sun tea, lemonade and switchel -- the equivalents of today's soft drinks and energy boosters.
2014
Soft drinks an increasingly hard sell to Canadian consumers
Venturing into a supermarket nowadays likely entails an encounter with a tempting offer: cheap pop.
Not just any cheap pop or store brand variety, the name brand stuff – Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper can all now be found at any given time at steep discounts compared to prices not so long ago.
A 12-pack of 355ml cans has fallen to $3 at times. Two-litre bottles can be found for a buck, or less.
References
- Chambers & Heisler (1999)
- Boberg (2005)
- Boberg (2010)
- COD-2
- ITP Nelson
- Gage-5
- DAE
- AHD-5