Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Showcase

There has been a cultural clash on campus - a clash of epic proportions. The cause? Oh, nothing big really, just a mixing of local dialects. It's just what to call those devices protruding from the walls that provide water to the thirsty citizen on the go. Yes, you understand now, I'm speaking of the infamous Bubbler vs. Drinking Fountain debate!

So what are they? It depends on who you ask. According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, the closer to southeastern Wisconsin you get, the more likely you are to hear the term bubbler, which was coined in the area - more on that later. Minnesotans have dubbed it a drinking fountain, which seems to be a logical decision. Other places use the term water fountain. To many of us, however, when we hear water fountain, we think of a decorative cement structure artfully squirting water in a park. This being said, the names water fountain and drinking fountain are logical but quite uncreative. Critics of the word bubbler claim that it doesn't make sense to call something by an action it doesn't do (it's really more of a stream of water).

The term bubbler actually makes a lot of sense and has a history. The word is credited in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as, "a drinking fountain from which a stream of water bubbles upward." Sounds accurate to me. Moreover, the term bubbler is, to an extent, historically correct. According to Wikipedia, the Kohler Company in Racine, Wis., is credited with patenting, and thus naming, the device a bubbler in 1888.

Basically, a bubbler is a trademarked name of the Kohler Company that has become widely used instead of calling it by what it is. For example, it is similar to how all facial tissue is regarded as "Kleenex," which is a brand name. Linguists call this phenomenon an eponym, which is when a brand name has become synonymous with a product type. The term is predominantly used in southeastern Wisconsin because that is the area in which the term and device originated - it just stuck.

So there you have it. No one is right or wrong in their terminology, although we must admit that bubbler is a more interesting term to use. The variations in the terms show where a person hails from and the local culture they represent. Let the dialects mingle in peace. However, if you still want something to vehemently defend, try soda vs. pop on for size - that'll shake things up.

Nick Hogan is a sophomore public relations major and guest columnist of The Spectator.

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