Charlize Theron was recently reprimanded for asserting that her native language, Afrikaans, is a language on the verge of extinction. On the Smartless podcast, the actress discussed her childhood in South Africa with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
During the interview, she stated that after migrating to the United States at the age of 19, she learned to speak English fluently. Theron stated that she was able to “lose” her South African dialect with relative ease.
She added that only “approximately 44 individuals” are still able to speak Afrikaans:
“It is a vanishing language that is not particularly useful.”
As her remarks spread online, social media users responded with harsh condemnation. The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) also reprimanded the actress, describing her remarks as “disappointing,” “unsettling,” and “inaccurate”
Ms. Theron’s statements propagate the widespread fallacy that Afrikaans is exclusively spoken by white ‘boere’ South Africans, which could not be further from the truth given that sixty percent of Afrikaans speakers are black.
With a roughly 14% market share, it is one of the most extensively spoken languages in South Africa. Afrikaans is the native tongue of approximately 8.4 million individuals worldwide.
According to The Independent, the 2018 Community Survey conducted by Stats South Africa reveals that 12.2% of South Africans speak Afrikaans at home.
Twitter reacts to Charlize Theron’s use of Afrikaans
Charlize Theron recently landed in heated water after stating that her native language, Afrikaans, is a “dying language” spoken by only “44 individuals.”
In addition to criticizing her, the PanSALB stated that Charlize Theron is held in “great respect by the nation of her origin” and requested that she use her position to underscore the importance of speaking in one’s mother tongue in public:
“We urge her to respect the constitutional mandates that promote social cohesion and to continue the commendable work of using her platform to highlight critical socioeconomic issues affecting the continent, including the importance of participating in public life in one’s mother tongue.”
Following her statements, a prompt backlash ensued, with many taking to Twitter to refute her assertions.
South African actor-director Tim Theron commented on Charlize Theron’s podcast comments on Instagram, writing:
“We are incredibly pleased of Charlize and all that she has achieved… But we’re also proud of our diversity and magnificent official languages, one of which is Afrikaans.”
In addition, he stated that millions of individuals spoke Afrikaans at home.
It is neither a ‘dying language’ nor spoken by only 44 individuals. It is spoken by millions of people, new melodies and poems are written every day, films are produced, etc.”
In the coming days, it remains to be seen if Charlize Theron will address the issue and respond to the indignation in light of the continued influx of comments.
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