"There's about 44 people still speaking it. It's definitely a dying language; it's not a very helpful language."

A flippant comment made by South African actor Charlize Theron on an American podcast has caused a rumble back home and soon became a trending topic on Twitter.

The Academy Award-winning actor was talking to hosts Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett on a new episode of SmartLess when she referred to Afrikaans as "dying" and "not very helpful".

Local Afrikaans stars were quick to correct the Mad Max actor on her statement.

Click 'read more' to see what local stars had to say.