South African comedy legend, Trevor Noah, had fans creasing at his Xhosa-speaking abilities, something he does not show off too often.
Born in Soweto to a black South African mother and a white Swiss father, Trevor grew up multilingual and, while his English is impeccable, he has also shown his Xhosa skills to be very handy.
In a recent TikTok video, Trevor and some friends were vacationing together and the video shows a loaf of bread cut perfectly into slices, which his friends did not believe that he was capable of. In the video, Trevor shows off his perfect Xhosa, complete with the accent too.
“Uyazbona Leza slice [you see that slice],” he said.
“Ndinjalo ke mntanam [that’s how I am, child],” he added.
In the comment section, fans of Trevor Noah were amused – and touched – by his ability to switch languages seamlessly.
“[He’s] still got a little bit of his Xhosa accent,” one user commented.
“We thank God the accent is still there,” said another.
Watch:
@khayadlangaPerfectly hand cut slices of bread♬ original sound – Khaya Dlanga
This is not the first time Trevor has spoken in Xhosa and has used it on the international stage. While presenting the nominations for ‘Best Picture’ at the 2019 Oscars, he joked that he knew Chadwick Boseman’s character in Black Panther, T’Challa.
“Growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, I would see T’Challa flying over our village. And he would remind me of a great Xhosa phrase: Abelungu abazi ubu ndiyaxoka.”
Trevor claimed the phrase meant: “In times like this, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart.”
However, what no one knew is that Trevor actually said “White people don’t know I’m lying.”
Y’all Trevor Noah had us cracking up speaking in Xhosa!!!! Gosh I love being African. Uthini uTrevor?!? Ahahahahaha #Oscars pic.twitter.com/xtj49rO9Md
— Makho Ndlovu (@makhondlovu) February 25, 2019
Written by Matthew Petersen
First published by African Insider
Also see: 5 Times a charm! Trevor Noah will be hosting this year’s Grammy Awards
