Were you familiar with Trevor Noah before reading this interview? If so, do you look at him any differently after reading the interview. What resonated most with you about Trevor Noah’s words in the interview? Your response should be at four to seven sentences long. Also, please feel free to comment on another student’s comment. Doing this can help take ideas one step further.
30 thoughts on “Blog Post #5: Responding to the “Trevor Noah” Interview”
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I was familiar with Trevor Noah before listening to the interview since I frequently watch his daily show. In some ways, this interview taught me more about him and his experiences as a youngster. His multilingualism protected him, as did the way he was assessed based on his skin color. Despite the fact that I have always admired him for his comedy. The interview just increased my admiration for him. The bit when he stated he transformed into a chameleon because of the various languages he was speaking at the same time. It’s incredible how he was able to interact with so many different sorts of individuals with different languages at the same time.
I agree with you, Trevor Noah has many languages, which can protect him and help him make many different friends.
I agree with you because having multiple languages makes some time makes difficult to communicate with someone while using fancy words but Trevor figured it out and made him comfortable while talking in different langauges.
Johir, I am glad to hear that this interview heightened your admiration for Noah. Also, I agree that it is incredible that he was able to interact with so many different people in so many different languages. In Africa, as compared to most parts of North America, it’s common for people to be multilingual.
Before reading the interview, I didn’t know who is Trevor Noah , but during the reading interview, I found that the environment Trevor Noah live is very racist, because whenever black people enter any store, they will use a different language. Tell the staff to follow up those black people to prevent them from stealing things. Unfortunately, Trevor Noah and his mother can understand other languages, which can help them encounter more serious racial discrimination. What resonated most with the words in the interview is that many people in this environment now have racial discrimination, especially against black people, but I think not all black people are brutal. There are a lot of black people who are very kind and harmonious. They treat everyone very friendly and are willing to make friends with you. So treat each one in a friendly way. I also think that learning different languages will help others as well as help myself to interact with others.
You make a number of great points here, Guidian. It sounds like you have an open-minded perspective, much like Noah’s. I also agree with your last point wholeheartedly. This is why I continue to try to learn new languages, as well.
I was familiar with Trevor Noah from his daily shows. I started following him in January 2021. Trevor Noah shadowed his mom from a very young age. The skill of being able to learn many different languages as his mom has protected him from dangerous situations, like mugs. The thing that resonated with me the most the getting mug from different racial people. If I had known the language of the muggers (Spanish) then I might have been able to escape. The reason I am trying to learn other languages such as Hindi and Arabic is that to understand other different people who are not of the same race.
I’m not sure if I understood exactly what you wrote, Talha. Are you saying you were mugged by Spanish-speaking people? If so, I am sorry to hear it, and you are likely right in that knowing Spanish could have deterred the muggers.
I knew very little about Trevor Noah before reading this interview. Before reading the interview, I thought Trevor Noah was always happy and extremely funny. He appeared to be carefree because he was always smiling. After reading the interview, I learned about Trevor’s childhood and the hardships he faced. There was a lot of racism where Trevor lived as a child. In Trevor Noah’s interview, the thing that resonates with me the most is racial discrimination. I believe that people should not generalize a group of people because every individual is different. For example, people might think all Asians have small eyes, but that might not be the case for every Asian.
I think that you are right in that people tend to generalize when it comes to racial groups, Sandy. However, I would say comments about eye size are a bit different than some of the issues that Noah faced. I don’t say that because it is okay if people comment (negatively) about the shape of Asian people’s eyes, but, in the environment in which Noah grew up, the color of one’s skin dictated a lot about what someone could and couldn’t do.
I have listened to some of his shows on Youtube, but I am not familiar with Trevor Noah. What I had resonated about Trevor Noah’s words in the interview is that he sees languages similar the way I do. I do agree when you communicate with other with their home languages, they will usually treat you as one of their own kind. This might sounds like crazy and little racist, but people do tend to treat you nicer if you speak their language. Also he talked about how he thinks accents can be described as invading someone’s language. I feel the same way. That is why I have been trying my best to speak the language as naturally as possible. I do not think there is anything wrong if you speak with an accent. However, you should at least try your best to respect the language.
Pin Yuan, I agree that people tend to be kinder to people that speak the same language as them. It seems that this is something that is maybe biologically programmed into us. We have to become aware of it to override it.
I wasn’t familiar with Trevor Noah before this interview, and this was actually the first time that I have heard of him. Something that resonated me the most during his words in the interview was the point where he was talking about the realizing of how powerful language was and how language could even define who we are even more than our colors. I agree with this claim that he made, people tend to become a group who they define as the same type and language was a factor of it. For example, on the reading of Trevor Noah’s interview, he talked about the time where he was about to be mug by a group of zulu guys, but then when he was speaking the same language as them, the group decided to let him go and define them as the same tribe even though the color of them was different.
I agree with you. In general, people consider languages as signs of different groups. In some way, language may identify a person. But I think using languages to identify someone is not full. Language should not be used as an identification tool that leads to discrimination.
I agree that this example that Noah provided about the Zulu muggers was quite powerful, Kelly. It is wild how quickly people change their attitude when they feel that they are hurting “one of their own”. This is why it is important to find commonalities with people who come from different backgrounds than you. If you can find things that you have in common with people who are seemingly different than you, you will more likely consider them to be “one of your own” in a way.
Before reading this interview, I am not familiar with Trevor Noah. But after reading, I know that he is a son of a black mother and a white father. Because of his color, language and accent, he experience discrimination. In this interview, Trevor Noah talked about language is a powerful tool and using fancy words to communicate is not an effective method. These two ideas resonate with me. Language is a powerful and important tool for communication. If you have various languages, you are able to communicate with different people. To have the best communication, you do not require to use fancy words. Because other people may not know these words’ meaning. These fancy words may hinder what you really want to convey. Direct and clear words can promote good communication.
Bing Lin, I liked that you brought up the point that using fancy words is not always the best way to communicate a point. This is why I try to stress the importance of speaking clearly, simply, and directly.
Before reading this interview, I was not familiar with Trevor Noah. Something that resonated with me in this interview is the use of language. One time, a Chinese lady talked in the Fuzhou dialect about me and my friends, something that was not nice. So, we reply with Fuzhou dialect, and this lady apologizes to us. It also happens when I go back to China, Fuzhou. I agree with him that using the same language can build a connection with others. So, they would see you the same. I also agree with what Trevor Noah had said about communication are skill is more important than a grasp of the language.
Lei, I love how you were able to connect this point that Noah made about how having a language in common can be disarming to your own life. It’s incredible that this woman apologized to you after learning that you spoke the same dialect. This is a great example of Noah’s point.
I was not familiar with Trevor Noah before this interview, but after reading the interview, I knew that he was a black and white South African who used different languages to handle and navigate racist situations. In this interview, what resonated with me is that when he said, “communication is more important than your grasp of language… Can you communicate effectively with a person?” An example that he gave, Donald Trump. Donald Trump, as a president of the United States, gives lectures that have low word count with the grammar of a five years old, but people understand every word that he says. Learning a language is not the way of using fancy vocabulary, moreover, is about how should we communicate with others.
Janie, I love that you brought up this example of Trump’s language. In one poll, people were asked why they liked Donald Trump more than Hillary Clinton and most answered that they could understand what Trump would say in his speeches, and that they couldn’t understand what Clinton would say. This is why I stress the importance of speaking clearly, simply, and directly!
Before reading this interview, I don’t know who Trevor Noah was? While reading the interview, I know now who Noah is. His mom was black married to a white guy. His mother was knowing many different languages, by watching his mother talking in a different language Noah also learned different languages. Noah does mimic the actions of his friends. Noah tells about that language is a powerful tool for communication. It resonates with me because I also think that language is a powerful tool to communicate while knowing different languages we don’t have to use creative words, we just need to be fluent in it. I think the Zulu incident was a perfect example of it.
Om, I think the last point that you make is true. We do not need to use fancy words. We just need to be able to communicate effectively in a language.
I was not familiar with Trevor Noah before reading the interview. What resonated me the most in the interview is how sometimes language can identify who you’re more than your skin color or race. One things that me and Noah has in common is how we would use different languages when communicating with different people. Language is a powerful tool, since I speak more than two languages communication tends to be easier for me.
As someone who speaks two languages as well, I agree with you since language is a powerful tool. Through the use of language, it can identify how one is apart from ones skin color or race and knowing several languages provides more in how someone can be viewed.
Yu Yun, I am glad that you can connect this idea of speaking multiple languages as a benefit to your own life. At first, it tends to be harder on children and teenagers to learn multiple languages, but when they get older and see the benefits of it, they tend to be happy that they have this ability to communicate more broadly.
I was familiar with Trevor Noah from his daily show before reading this interview. Although I don’t know much about him, this interview has changed the way I look at him. On the show, he always looks delightful and cheerful with his humor, I have never thought he has had hard times. I resonated the most about he has to faced racism because of how he looks and that sometimes leads him into danger as well. Yet his language skills protected him from the danger. Which makes me realized that language is truly a powerful tool.
May, you brought up a simple yet important point, which is that Noah doesn’t seem like the person who has been through hard times. I agree with this point, because he doesn’t seem bitter or weathered. However, enduring and surviving hard times can strengthen one’s personality, and I believe that Noah is a testament to that.
Before listening to this interview with Trevor Noah, I never knew his past to his current life or being the host of “The Daily Show”. To be considered a crime, for he was born during the aparthied era in 1984, Noah was South African as the son of a black mother and white father. What I found interesting as well was that he could speak six languages just as his mother. Through this, he was able to learn many skills that he continued to use throughout his life and became a powerful tool for him to use constantly in many situations. What I was able to find that resonated most with me is how he changes his accent and vocabulary, in order to communicate well with others. By considering himself as a chameleon and using the South African President, Jacob Zuma, as an example. (Fresh Air) “but think of how many people who for the first time are listening to a presidential candidate, understanding every single, quote, unquote, “policy” that he puts forward.” When I would speak with friends that speak Spanish, I would speak the same Spanish as them in a similar accent. If I were to speak with my family in Mexico, it would be more formal and I do so with family including cousins here as well. When I translate something for my mother from Spanish to English, I would use an accent similar to hers when she tries to speak English and vocabulary. In Trevor Noah’s experience, (Fresh Air) “ I just find, speaking to one person, I change a few words; I change my tone; I change my accent slightly. It’s a seamless transition that I do without even thinking like a chameleon. I don’t think that I’m doing it; I just do it.” As this is what I found to resonate most with me, even though I cannot speak six languages, I still understand much of what he explains as language is a powerful tool along with how it is used effectively and helps in communicating with others.
Daniel, you picked up on a number of great points here. I want to comment on the power of simply changing one’s tone when talking to others. When we are conscious of something as simple as our tone, we can disarm others and create a more inviting situation. Our ability to create a more inviting situation can be heightened when we have the ability to communicate in multiple languages, as well. I believe that Noah’s skills as a television show host and comedian come from the fact that he is multilingual and that he has endured such hardship.