Amandla Stenberg reacts to criticism about name pronunciation
Amandala... Amand-la - actress Amandla Stenberg explains why she pronounces her Xhosa name incorrectly.
'Everything, Everything' actress Amandla Stenberg is speaking out after she was criticised for not being able to pronounce her own name.
The 23-year-old gets her name from the rallying cry "amandla, awethu! (power to the people)" used by freedom fighters during apartheid.
Amandla means "power" in isiZulu and isiXhosa.
A video of Amandla pronouncing her name went viral recently. Many South Africans noted that she did not use the correct pronunciation.
"If they couldn't say Amandla they should have just named her Power. Finish," one social media user said.
Some thought it was disrespectful and lazy for her to not know the correct way - especially because she has acknowledged in previous interviews that her parents were inspired by the popular South African cry.
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@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
Amandla caught wind of the storm that was brewing online over her name and decided to set the record straight. She says she does know how to pronounce her name, but her mother westernised the pronunciation because she didn't want her to struggle in school.
"I, honestly, am still struggling [to figure] out how to introduce myself. South Africans, if you are willing, let's have a dialogue, please. I welcome it," the actress said on TikTok.
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@amandlafr ♬ original sound - amandla stenberg
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Many applauded Amandla for trying, with some going as far as teaching the 'Hunger Games' star how to pronounce other words.
"1. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth then pull back. 2. create a vacuum between the tongue and the roof then forcefully pull down the tongue," one TikTok user commented after Amandla tried to pronounce "Xhosa".
@amandlafr Replying to @SibusisoRadebe ♬ original sound - amandla stenberg
Amandla got an A+ for effort with some people pointing out that she is not as bad as Naomi Campbell when it comes to pronouncing "amandla".
The supermodel made headlines in 2018 when she said "amandala" at a Global Citizen Festival concert.
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This is my Favorite video rn.😂💀AMANDALA 💀 pic.twitter.com/wCOMjLyAr1
— Playoff 🅿️ (@Manandssss) December 2, 2018
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Main image credit: YouTube (Warner Bros. Pictures, 'Everything, Everythinh' trailer)