How's That?

About three quarters of an hour before we get to the cottage where we turn the car north from highway 7 to 62, there is a Tim Hortons. After several hours of driving it's a welcome stop, which we always visit both going and coming. This time, as we pulled in on the way to the cottage, we were amazed to find very few people there, for despite the fact that it is located in a pretty rural area, there is much driveby traffic that feels compelled to stop, and it's always busy. There was no lineup as we entered and headed into the restrooms.

I was stunned to emerge to a large crowd of high school kids who were on their lunch break. Obviously, there is a high school in the nearby village, and I asked, stupidly asked, the girl behind me how long it took to walk from the the school to the coffee shop. "About ten minutes," came the reply, "but I drive because I take the car to school." Silly me, of course she does.

What I again heard from the kids as they made their orders was the word BAGel. Over and over, a kids would order a BAGel, not a BAYgel. It seems that every kid of every generation automatically does this. Do they never hear adults saying the words correctly? Also, as far as I understand the rules of pronunciation, the a should be long, as in bay, so they should get it right regardless. But, no: they forever insist that it's a BAGel. And I continue to scratch my head.