Charlize Theron under fire over Afrikaans ‘a dying language’ comments
JOHANNESBURG (MNP) – Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron has sparked a firestorm in her native South Africa for suggesting that Afrikaans, a language descended from Dutch settlers, was heading for oblivion.
“There s about 44 people still speaking it — it s definitely a dying language, it s not a very helpful language,” the 47-year-old actor said Monday on a US podcast, “Smartless.”
By Thursday South Africans took to Twitter to voice outrage or support.
“Wow what a disrespectful comment to the millions of South Africans of all ages, races…that speak Afrikaans as their first language,” said @Juleanor.
“Thank you Charlize Theron – that…racist language is dying and shouldn t even be recognized,” said @SaboSizwe, in contrast.
One of 11 official languages in South Africa, Afrikaans is commonly used by around 12 percent of the population of nearly 60 million.
Laws imposing Afrikaans played a role in the oppression of black citizens during the apartheid era, and the language remains controversial in some sectors of society today.
A lawmaker from the opposition radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party tweeted in support of Theron s remarks, but the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), a small rightwing and predominantly white Afrikaner party, said she was misguided.
“She is not up to date with what is going on in her country of birth,” it said in a statement.
The Hollywood star was born in Benoni, a suburb 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Johannesburg, and moved to the United States almost 30 years ago.
