Ag nee man, Charlize!

The famous American rapper, Jay Electronica, recently said: “The universe is listening, be careful what you say in it…”

Indeed…Actress Charlize Theron has sparked a firestorm in the universe after saying that Afrikaans is heading for oblivion. In Monday’s episode of the American podcast, Smartless, the 47-year-old said: “There’s about 44 people still speaking Afrikaans. It’s definitely a dying language; it’s not a very helpful language.”

Jeepers! What was she thinking!? That we would just shrug our shoulders?! Duh! Obviously South Africans have lashed out and flooded all social media platforms to voice their outrage. Theron’s comment prompted responses from political parties, actors and celebrities, with Steve Hofmeyr writing on his Facebook Page: “Kyk, klapsyonssnouwakker. Charlize, as Afrikaans die eerste hartoorplanting kon
vermag, is dit bruikbaar genoeg vir my. Afrikaans sal leef, en oorleef!”

Obviously, the funny remarks and comments quickly followed: “I need the names of the other 43 people still speaking Afrikaans to help me with my kid’s homework in future”. “It may be true that only 44 people still speak Afrikaans, but that doesn’t include the number of people who share in it. There’s no better vloektaal!”.

“Charlize Theron het vergeet dat Steve se kinders almal Afrikaans praat.” “Feit vir die dag: Zuma en Charlize was in dieselfde Wiskunde klas”. Ensovoorts. Ensovoorts. Ensovoorts.

Theron’s comment went as far as making international headlines. Even the Pan South African Language Board released a statement on News 24 saying: “According to Stats SA’s Community Survey, Afrikaans is the 3rd most spoken language in the country, and according to worlddata.info, a total of about 8,4 million people worldwide, speak Afrikaans as their mother tongue.

…My thoughts immediately went back to 2016, when Charlize, our very own Benoni-star (gmpf!), opened up to British GQ magazine about how she was constantly trying to win back the love of her country, South Africa. At the time she found herself treated like a traitor for having left, and for adopting a foreign accent.

Charlize told GQ: “I love my country. I have a very strong connection to my country and its people. I’m not having a pity party, but I’m constantly trying to win its love back…”

Well, famous last words, Charlize. Ag nee man! We have all still loved you, we have all still adored you, and all of us have still rooted for you, even when you changed your surname to Thêron… How hard can it be to pronounce Theron with an American accent?! Really?

And now, saying that only 44 people still speak Afrikaans?! It’s like washing away your roots. Throwing away your identity, but above all, underestimating us and insulting us. No language is EVER “not helpful.” And Afrikaans? It’s more than just a language – it’s our history, our culture, our origin. And yours, Charlize “Thêêwon”.

But I’m definitely not writing this piece today merely in defence of Afrikaans. It’s about what we should all take from this…

First of all, the Mad Max actress has remained tight-lipped on the huge attention her interview has received. Even the official social media pages for the podcast, which often responds to their followers’ comments, have remained silent…

We are familiar with the fact that the podcast is known for its comedic content, but it’s unclear if Theron was joking. And it’s totally irrelevant! She may have bagged herself this glittering Hollywood career, but she has lost my respect. Forever! It was the famous American poet, Carl Sandburg, who wrote many years ago: “Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten.”

It reminds me of this parable:

“There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his temper, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his
temper at all.

The father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, ‘you have done well, my son, but look at all the holes in the fence. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same again. Saying or doing hurtful things produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you are sorry – the scar will always be there. Never forget, people are much more vulnerable than an old fence.’”

I don’t think Charlize is going to take back her comment – in fact, she may even have forgotten already what she said. It’s okay. Her comment has reminded me again that our words can be the most powerful tool we have for good, or they can be the most powerful tool of destruction. The choice is up to us.

Words are like weapons – they wound sometimes. So let’s be careful with our words; the universe IS listening!

Yours in fitness
Mirna

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