Amandla Stenberg receives criticism for butchering her Xhosa name

American actress Amandla Stenberg has received some heat from South African social media users after recently making an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan.

In the snippet of the interview, Amandla is welcomed onto the stage, and one of the hosts quickly makes a comment on how beautiful her name sounds.

@liza_mgi #fyp #amandlastenberg #tiktokamerica #tiktoksouthafrica ♬ original sound – Liza Mg

When Kelly and Ryan asked Amandla about the origins of her name, she responded by butchering her own name before explaining that her name means “power” in Xhosa and Zulu, and also added that the word was a part of an anti-apartheid rally and cry in South Africa.

When she was asked if she feels any pressure to living up to the name she was given by her parents, she said that she has chosen to see her name as a prophecy over her life.

Since the interview went viral, Stenberg has received a lot of backlash for the way in which she pronounces her name, and many people have shared the same sentiments that she does not have the tongue to pronounce her name correctly, nor does she care enough to learn how to better pronounce it.

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Controversial vlogger Misa who was born and raised in South Africa, but now resides in America, also shared her thoughts on Amandla Stenberg’s pronunciation of her name on a video which she shared on TikTok.

She explained how important it is to understand the origins of names, and have the will and interest to know how to properly pronounce names the way the people of those languages and tribes do.

She also stressed that parents who do not have the tongue or ability to pronounce names correctly should stay away from naming their children those names.

@misanarrates Replying to @yolyolii_ ♬ original sound – Misa Narrates

“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.

South African singer Lady Zamar took to the comments section of Misa’s post to share her sentiments as well.

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