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Cape Town – Penny is now Phindile, and Dianne is Dipuo.

If Twitter is to be believed, 2016 could be the year that sees the names of white South Africans getting a lekker local twist.

Frustrated that many of their lighter-skinned compatriots cannot or will not say their name properly, black social media users have taken a stand.

"2016 is the year for acting like you don't know how to pronounce white people’s names", tweeted Karabo Mahlase on the last day of 2015.

#TheYearWeMispronounceBack started trending the next day. The trend pokes fun at English speakers who find it easier to use short, anglicised versions of African names.

One user, @QiqaGqobo, tweeted: "Hi there, I'm McKenzie. Nice to meet you Mkhize. Mc-Ken-zie. I'll just call you Mkhonto Wesizwe for short."

Another, @Mandisa Gaba, contributed: "Hi, my name is Michelle. Hi, Mtshali. No, it's Michelle. Mshele? Mi-chelle. That's hard, I'll call you Masheleni." User @Tlalane lamented that she had been called Kalani, Shalani and Talani. She said she was waiting for someone to call her Salami.