The Old Lahaina Luau:
What Language Are You Speaking

by Beth Ward
(Palestine, Texas USA)

We went to the Old Lahaina Luau in Lahaina. We were so excited as this was our first Maui luau. We were greeted with a sweet smelling lei.

After walking around and viewing the pig that was cooking in the ground, and seeing all the other attractions we were interested in, we sat down at our table for eight. At one end was my brother, his wife, my husband and me. At the other end was a nice looking young couple, their child, and an older lady.

Being from Texas and having good manners instilled in me from birth I asked, "How are yall tonight?" The older lady asked, "What?" I repeated my question. She then asked,"What language are you speaking?" I immediately thought she was going to go into one of those tired old Texas jokes and I almost said,"Why, Texan, of course." Her daughter quickly said, "She is speaking English, Mom." The daughter then went on to explain that her mom was Italian and that was her primary language even though she had lived in Vancouver for a good number of years and could speak English. We all had a good laugh because we realized that all English speaking people do not understand the word "yall".


Hi Beth!

Thanks so much for sharing your story! I laughed out loud when I read it!

If I had been you at the Old Lahaina Luau, I would have assumed that everyone knew the word "yall" too... but I guess if English is one's second language, that isn't necessarily so!

Sheralyn
:)