We, South Africa, the alluded Rainbow Nation, has the third-most official languages in the world. And we are always willing to learn each other’s languages, no problem! 

One of the most spoken languages in the country is isiXhosa, notorious for its clicks which make it harder to learn than its Nguni ‘cousin’ languages. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop people from learning it or using terms from the language – and ending up mispronouncing the words.

One of the most famous mispronounced words, is the word “Mntase” which means, kinship – either sibling or friend. The word was mispronounced and miswritten by Sotho speakers on Twitter and it became “Motase”. 

The word has now become that; it is seldom that you hear people use the actual word now, especially on social media. 

How to use it: “You’re beautiful motase.” 

Or: “Ah! Motase, ziyakhala ke manje!” 

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Tell us: As a non-Xhosa speaker, do you try to speak it? As an isiXhosa speaker, how do you feel when people mispronounce words?