It's no secret that the majority of the French national soccer team that competed at the 2018 World Cup is of African descent.
Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and Adil Rami are just a few names of players who are children of African immigrants.
So it was fitting when Trevor Noah celebrated their ancestry with a light-hearted joke: "Africa won the World Cup!" But the witty remark didn't bode well for French Ambassador Gérard Araud.
Seemingly insulted by Noah's joke, the French ambassador wrote a long letter lambasting him for denying the team's "Frenchness."
Araud's letter included arguments like "I heard your words about an African victory; nothing could be less true" and "unlike in the United States of America, France does not refer to its citizens based on their race, religion, or origin."
But Noah had the most beautiful (and perfect) clap back to the ambassador's letter.
On Wednesday, July 18, in his "Between the Scenes" clip available only online, Noah read Araud's letter out loud and refuted his accusation.
"When I'm saying they're African, I'm not saying it as a way to exclude them from their Frenchness, but I’m rather using it to include them in my African-ness,” Noah said. "I'm saying, 'I see you, my French brother of African descent.'"
Noah specifically took issue with Araud's underlying point that celebrating the players' African ancestry meant denying their French identity.
"Why can’t they be both?" Noah rhetorically asked. "Why is that duality only afforded to a select group of people? What they’re arguing here is in order to be French, you have to erase everything that is African?”
The ambassador went on to write "roots are an individual identity" and that celebrating the winning team as "African" legitimizes the belief that whiteness is the "only definition of being French."
Noah pointed out, however, that French politicians only seem to consider African immigrants as "French" when they score a goal or save a baby from a balcony. But when discussing French residents in a negative light, these politicians refer to it as an African immigrant problem.
"I love how African they are and how French they are," he said. "I don’t take their Frenchness away, but I also don’t think we need to take their African-ness away.”
Noah went on to say that one of the great things about America is that people here can celebrate being both Irish and American during St. Patrick's Day, black and American during Juneteenth, Chinese and American during the Chinese New Year, and/or Puerto Rican and American during the Puerto Rican parade.
A tolerant and diverse society isn't just about celebrating what we all have in common. It's also about celebrating what makes us different.
There's strength and inclusion in acknowledging our differences, and Noah's remarks remind us of that.
“Black people all over the world were celebrating the African-ness of the French players ... in a positive way, going, ‘Look at these Africans who can become French,’” he said.
Regardless of whether or not the French ambassador is offended by the celebration of the World Cup winning team's African background, Noah will still praise their African identity.
"If French people are saying they cannot be both, then I think they have a problem—not me,” he stated.
He is certainly right.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.