South-African and American actress and producer Charlize Theron has faced fierce criticism in South Africa after saying her mother tongue, Afrikaans, is “a dying language” (see CNN article on this). Linguistics Professor Andries Coetzee was interviewed live on the BBC's Newshour on November 17th to share his opinions on the angry response to Theron's statements, in connection with the history Afrikaans. The BBC has also released an article further addressing the controversy.

Listen to Coetzee's BBC Newshour interview below.