After I ordered food at the counter in a fast-food restaurant in Montréal, the cashier told me my order wouldn’t be long in coming by saying this:
Ça sera pas bien long.
It won’t be very long.
This expression is very much used by employees who deal with the public (restaurants, on the phone, etc.). It’s a way of telling the customer to be patient and wait while the employees go about their business. You’ll also hear ça sera pas long, without the bien.
We’ve seen many times how bien can be pronounced informally as ben, which sounds like bain. This doesn’t mean that bien isn’t used in spoken language though — the cashier did pronounce bien. Although it’s possible to say ça sera pas ben long, it’s more informal sounding.
Even though the cashier pronounced bien instead of ben, she still avoided using ne in her negation, which is an informal usage.
Careful with the pronunciation of long — in the masculine/neutral form, the g isn’t pronounced. It sounds as if it were written lon, to rhyme with mon, son, etc. It’s the feminine form longue where you’ll hear the g.
