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- Charlize Theron is receiving backlash back home after controversial comments made during an interview.
- Theron said that Afrikaans was a "dying" language and wasn't "very helpful".
- This has prompted the Pan South African Language Board to release a statement on the "inaccurate" comments.
The Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) on Friday released a statement following comments made by Charlize Theron during an American interview in which she called Afrikaans a "dying language" spoken by only "44 people".
The board said it noted Theron’s "disparaging comments with concern", adding, "The comments are not only disheartening but are disturbing as they are inaccurate and misleading. According to Stats SA’s Community Survey of 2018, Afrikaans is the 3rd most spoken language in the country making up 12,2% of the population."
According to PanSALB, Theron’s comments "perpetuate the persistent misconception that Afrikaans is only spoken by white ‘boere’ South Africans, which could not be farther from the truth as 60% of the people that speak the language are black.
"Furthermore, Afrikaans maintains its official status in terms of the Constitution and is utilised in several cross governmental communications and used as a medium of instruction in South African schools."
READ | Charlize Theron's controversial opinion about Afrikaans - 'It's not a very helpful language'
PanSALB highlighted that Theron, by her own admission, was taught through the South African schooling system in her mother tongue, "which built the foundation of her rather illustrious career".
"Theron is held in such high regard by the country of her birth and as the Pan South African Language Board we implore her to pay due regard to the Constitutional imperatives that promote social cohesion and continue the commendable work of using her platform to highlight some of the critical socio-economic issues that affect the continent including the importance of participating in public life using one’s mother tongue."
Charlize Theron is yet to comment on the backlash she's received since the interview.
READ | Local TV stars respond to Charlize Theron: 'Afrikaans is alive and kicking'
