“King Kan Praat, for Real”: American Mom Brags About Family Speaking SA Languages, Mzansi Impressed

“King Kan Praat, for Real”: American Mom Brags About Family Speaking SA Languages, Mzansi Impressed

  • An American woman who relocated to South Africa with her family shared some of the languages they've been learning to speak
  • In a video shared on TikTok, she noted that they were each learning different languages, sparking a massive online debate
  • Social media users were impressed to hear of their love for the country and praised them for their interest in our official languages
She also added that her two sons were learning IsiXhosa and Afrikaans
An American mom shared that she was learning to speak IsiZulu. Image: @iamkourtneyjade
Source: TikTok

A content creator from the US who lived with her family in Cape Town for two years showed off her son's Afrikaans-speaking attempt.

The mom shared her video on her TikTok account @iamkourtneyjade on 17 March 2026, showing herself and her son, who proved that he could speak the local language.

Sitting at home with her son, King, the mom noted that since moving to the country two years ago, people had been wondering which languages they were learning. In the native language, she noted that she was learning to speak IsiZulu, while her son King was into Afrikaans and Carter was learning isiXhosa.

Read also

"She ate and let no crumbs": German woman and Xhosa choir's dance moment goes viral

King flexes his Afrikaans speaking skills

The mom then asked King how he was doing and instructed him to respond in Afrikaans, to which he responded perfectly. She then asked him to count to ten, and the boy counted fluently. TikTok user @iamkourtneyjade then asked for the days of the week, and he also aced them. He also taught his mom a few other words like house, sink and tap.

Watch the TikTok video below:

SA loves the American family

The clip went viral, gaining 360K views, 36K likes and over 2K comments from viewers who enjoyed the mother and son conversation. Many users praised the creator for showing an interest in local languages, believing they would help them feel more at home. A large number of viewers praised King for his ability to speak Afrikaans, with some locals admitting they couldn't even speak a word of the language. Others were impressed by his accent and motivated him to continue learning.

Read also

American shares unique note about South African men while listing culture shocks in TikTok video

Others clapped hands for King, who could speak Afrikaans with an accent
The family's interest in local languages impressed viewers. Image: @iamkourtneyjade
Source: TikTok

User @Mpilo commented:

"Yoh, King is sliding. Even I can’t speak it like that, and I’ve had it as a subject for 12 years 😁."

User @Real D Staxx said:

"King kan praat (can speak) for real 👏🏻."

User @Phush43 added:

"Your SA aunties are proud of you, my boy🥰."

User @EmCloete 🇿🇦 added:

"❤️He pronounced the words perfectly. He also has the accent going. Well done."

User @Development Diva said:

"Wow, that's amazing 👏 🤩. I was born here, but still can't speak well 😁😂. I'm very English."

User @ shelby_Peters_28 commented:

"Good job, King. You're doing well so far. The pronunciation will get better. Keep it up, champ!"

3 Briefly News articles about Americans

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Bongiwe Mati avatar

Bongiwe Mati (Human Interest Editor) Bongiwe Mati is a Human Interest reporter who joined Briefly News in August 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree from the University of the Western Cape. Her journalism journey began in 2005 at the university newspaper. She later transitioned to marketing and sales at Leadership Magazine under Cape Media (2007-2009). In 2023, she joined BONA magazine as an Editorial Assistant, contributing to digital and print platforms across current news, entertainment, and human interest categories. Bongiwe can be reached at bongiwe.mati@briefly.co.za

Tags: