Actress Amandla Stenberg slammed for ‘mispronouncing’ her name

South Africans across the country have gathered on TikTok to discuss a video of American actress Amandla Stenberg pronouncing her Xhosa name during an interview. In the clip that has gone viral, the actress explains to the interviewer that her name is South African and that it means “power” in Xhosa.

For many who watched the video, it was quite disappointing to hear that she is not able to pronounce her name with the traditional South African accent.

Amandla Stenberg slammed for the way she pronounces her SA name

Just a few weeks ago, local poet and human rights activist Ntsiki Mazwai went viral after slamming the newly crowned Miss South Africa Ndavi Nokeri for “twanging” her Venda surname.

While many people quickly shut Ntsiki down, it appears the pronunciation of black African names is an important talking point for many.

This recently became evident after The Hate You Give star Amandla Stenberg was severely dragged online for the way she says her South African name.

A video of her explaining the name’s Xhosa background has gone viral on TikTok as many slam her for “failing to learn” how to pronounce the name correctly.

In fact, blogger Nicole Narrates reshared the clip on the app and criticised the actress who she says “doesn’t have any interest” in learning how to say it.

ALSO READ: Watch: Hilarious fail as TikTok attempts to pronounce South African names

“This actor has said for themselves that their name was taken by their parents from South Africa, so let me tell you the name is ‘Amandla’ okay.

“This is where naming people is important if you are taking names from other languages and you don’t have the tongue for them, nor will or interest to learn to pronounce it properly, to insist that they are pronounced properly, particularly when those names are from the people of those languages are often butchered.

“Please don’t bestow that name upon your children, finished,” she said.

@misanarrates #stitch with @Soph mispronunciation of African names is lazy at this point. And yes, even Amandla and their parents are guilty of this laziness #amandlastenberg ♬ original sound – Misa Narrates

Locals chip in

The post went viral as many South Africans either agreed with Nicole or dismissed the video as unnecessary.

Even Local singer Lady Zamar joined in on the discussion and wrote:

“It’s like taking an African artifact and putting it in a western museum and then giving it a different history just so it suits the western narrative.”

Another TikToker Annie Jean begged to differ and said:

“I’m sorry I have an unpopular opinion on this one. She can pronounce her name however she likes. It’s her name .”