“How Wakanda Sounds”: South Africans Enjoy isiZulu-Speaking Florida Man

• A man from Florida in the United States, Austin Andrews, took to his TikTok account to utter a few isiZulu phrases
• After finishing the phrases, Austin told people on the internet that they could call him by a South African name
• South African social media users were impressed with Austin's attempt and expressed their thoughts in the comment section

Austin Andrews, an American man from Daytona Beach, Florida, bravely shared his attempt at speaking isiZulu, making himself open to ridicule and corrections from South Africans. However, locals seemed to enjoy Austin's attempt.

On 24 July, 2025, the Florida man uploaded a video of himself on his TikTok account, saying various phrases in isiZulu and translating them to English.

Below are the phrases:

• Ngiyagula: I'm sick
• Uyagula: He/She is sick, or You are sick.
• Ngidinga umuthi manje: I need medicine now.
• Udinga umuthi wesisu?: Do you need stomach medicine?
• Udinga umuthi wekhanda?: Do you need headache medicine?
• Ngidinga ukubona udokotela, ngokushesha: I need to see a doctor, quickly.
• Ungudokotela, neh?: You are a doctor, right?
• Uzolanda amaphilisi esibhedlela kusasa, neh?: You will get the pills at the hospital tomorrow, right?

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At the end of his video, a proud Austin said to online viewers:

"Y'all can call me Sibusiso. I'm a blessing to y'all."

American man's isiZulu intrigues South Africans

Austin's post had thousands of social media users, mostly South African isiZulu speakers gathering, in the comment section to share their opinions about his attempt at speaking the language.

Some people couldn't help but laugh when they heard Austin say 'nah' at the end of one of his sentences.

@ayanda_gasolo applauded the man, telling internet users:

"This is actually impressive, guys."

@mpatlalatsane wrote in the comments:

"This is proof that isiZulu is an easy language to learn."

@boitybanks jokingly told the online community:

"If you close your eyes, this is how Wakanda sounds."

@eisaawenamann shared a similar post, writing:

"Cho, Sibusiso, this is sick indeed. I'll be looking for you in the next 'Black Panther' movie."

@sindi0936 added in the comment section:

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"Wow, your method of learning is genuine because how do you even know you have to differentiate between speaking about yourself or someone else?"

An amused @89997others noted with a laugh:

"This is really good, but he lowkey sounds like a 'Generations' actor."

@goldblum.2 asked the online community with humour:

"What if he is pretending to be an American speaking isiZulu?"

Take a look at Austin's attempt at speaking isiZulu in the TikTok video below:

3 Other foreign nationals speaking SA languages

• In another article, Briefly News reported that South Africans were in a massive fit of laughter when a Korean woman attempted to speak Afrikaans and isiZulu.
• After an American man spoke Afrikaans, his accent while speaking the language had many South African social media users cracking jokes.
• An American man living in South Africa shared a few isiXhosa click sounds and expressions he thought would surprise people from the United States.

Source: Briefly News